Dancing In The Dark
by ArtificialAorta
Summary: It may take one person to ruin a life, but someone else can also kick-start it. The latter is exactly what Remus Lupin and Sirius Black need. AU, Non-magic, R/S
1. Prologue

**Warning**: AU (No magic), pre-Harry Potter (MWPP) and there will be M/M relationships and sexual situations. If you don't like it, then don't read.  
**Disclaimer**: No copyright infringement intended, all familiar characters belong to JK Rowling and her publishers.

* * *

"And when the music fades away,  
I know I'll be okay."

-Little Boots, _Remedy_

_**Prologue**_

"I don't fucking care if this no longer within my bloody jurisdiction! I want that bastard locked up indefinitely!" yelled Chief Superintendent Jonathan Evans. A few minutes prior to slamming his office door and starting the phone call that was currently leaking through his supposedly soundproof office, Jonathan Evans had charged into CID London headquarters barking out random orders. A number of surprised inspectors were still running around in a manner similar to that of headless chickens. All in all, it was an entertaining show.

"If you can't keep Greyback locked up then so help me I'll personally go over there and break that _worm's_ legs so he can't get out!" ranted Evans.

"Chief Super doesn't sound too happy." James Potter mentioned as he dramatically shifted his chair to face Sirius Black, his best friend and colleague. The attempted suaveness of his movement was ruined by the fact he had to jump and jerk his chair a few times.

"Sounds like Evans can't get his way with something. You know how he gets." observed Sirius with a small smirk.

"You know anything about this Greyback fellow?" James asked suddenly as he continued to listen to the heated exchange.

"He's some drug lord." Peter Pettigrew said leaning on James' desk. He tried to make it seem like he was simply passing by but had actually been listening in on the whole conversation. This was a relatively normal occurrence and didn't annoy the two friends. Peter had a high position on the researching team and was the go to man if you wanted to know anything about cases or just petty work gossip. He was also a fun extra on pub Friday.

"Well makes sense then. I suppose he's been eluding Evans for ages? It's the first I've heard of him." mentioned Sirius.

"Well, actually he's on trial for assault. Knifed some bloke pretty bad in his flat."

"So? Sounds like the crime Chief Super needs to lock up the bastard." shrugged James, losing interest now that it seemed all was normal.

"Well..." started Peter as he conspiratorially leaned in. Sirius and James followed suit. "Thing is, he wasn't in charge of the case or showed too much interest before this. It was always Kelly's case. Some of the blokes say it has something to do with the guy who got knifed."

"Really?" James's interest was peaked once more.

"Yeah, Remi Lupus or something like that. But I can't figure out any connections he'd have to the man. At least none that show up right away. One of the girls bets Evans knocked up some bird years back before he got married and it's his secret son."

"Evans? A love child? I don't buy it." Sirius said while leaning back into his chair. Peter shrugged, nonplussed.

"Not saying if it's true or not. _I_ bet Greyback will get locked up- unless he gets a good lawyer. Don't really know why Evans is making such a fuss. You should see the pictures of this Lupus fellow though."

"Bad huh?"

"Greyback attacked him with a small kitchen knife in his flat, then left the bloke there. Didn't finish the job or try to hide the body or anything. Bloke's lucky someone found him in time. Almost bled to death."

"And that's what you get when you get into drugs." announced James suddenly before sighing and picking up a file from Sirius's desk, signaling the end of the discussion. Attacks on junkies who couldn't pay up were becoming more and more common but what could a Detective Sergeant really do about it?

* * *

The artificial lights of London could be seen in a flat where eerie shadows were being created by a tall floor lamp. Next to the lamp, on a nightstand, sat a rather expensive but empty bottle of wine. Two best friends were sitting on a bed with their legs comfortably intertwined.

It was Remus Lupin's first night back from the hospital and his best friend, Lily Evans, was drinking out of a half full wine bottle with as little grace as possible. After audibly gulping, she handed the bottle to Remus, who took it willingly and almost finished the rest of it.

Both were stripped down to their underwear from when the alcohol ("a much better and exciting painkiller than those pills") of the first bottle hit, causing Lily to declare it would be liberating and symbolic to shed their clothes and dance to the beat of radio. It had helped Remus forget for a little bit but as soon as the alcohol wore off the pains deep in his chest would come back and it was getting harder to distinguish whether or not it stemmed from his stitches. It was quickly agreed that it would be best to rest on the bed with another bottle of wine before Remus's stitches broke open.

Lily stumbled out of the room and towards the kitchen to retrieve another bottle. At the bedroom doorway, she fell onto the carpeted bedroom floor with a thud, causing the bottle and corkscrew to roll away. Instead of worrying about a drunken woman running around with a corkscrew, Remus started to laugh. More laughs ensued as Lily tried to pull out the cork with a combination of her feet and elbows before she finally opened the bottle with a triumphant shout and took a rather large gulp before plopping next to Remus.

"I'm gonna get a hangover." observed Remus with a slightly hysterical laugh, wiping excess wine from the corners of his mouth. Lily grabbed the bottle for another swig before handing it back to Remus, shrugging.

"Why you have pain killers, right?"

"Life really hates me doesn't it?" Remus admitted after a beat with a slight slur.

"It'll get better. I know it will." Insisted Lily but Remus laughed bitterly before taking a short swig.

"I suppose I should move out of here. Or get a roommate. Or sell my organs. We both know I can't afford the rent on my own even if I wanted to. Hafta sell all the furniture to get out of the lease. Maybe I can just talk my way out of it. Joint account might not be locked yet…" mused Remus as he and Lily continued to pass the bottle back and forth until it was empty and forgotten on the carpet. His rambling was a sign that the alcohol was mixing with exhaustion. They shifted slightly and Lily now had her head resting on Remus's neck and her arms around his waist. Remus put his arms around her in a tight hug and in response she lightly caressed his bandages with the tips of her fingers.

"Think you need to get away from here. S'not healthy to stay after what happened to you." concluded Lily, her mumbles slightly tickling Remus's neck.

"Where do I go then?"

"Find a place with me!" Lily said, visibly perking up. She lifted her head to look right at Remus.

"What?"

"I agreed with Severus that I would move out. The least I could do as I did do the breaking up."

"He was an arse in the first place, surely you get flat rights?"

"Doesn't matter. We both need a change. So what do you say?"

The two friends were looking eye to eye now, with no hint of amusement. There was the hanging comment in the air that Lily let sit. 'I need you back.' The two friends hadn't been in good contact for the past couple of years and Lily was determined to fix this, even in her somewhat inebriated state.

Finally, Remus nodded and let Lily kiss him on the cheek before she leaned towards the radio-clock. Turning on the radio, Lily took a few moments to remember how to change the station. She eventually got the hang of it and stopped at a station playing an upbeat electro pop song. With a smile and bit of a woozy stumble, she stood up and reached for Remus.

"We can start over. Together." she said with a smile that Remus returned. He took her hand and they danced away their sorrow.


	2. Chapter 1

**Warning**: AU (No magic), pre-Harry Potter (MWPP) and there will be M/M relationships and sexual situations. If you don't like it, then don't read.  
**A/N**: No beta so all mistakes are mine. Also I know that the way I got James and Sirius in Lorca is a bit flimsy but eh...*shrugs* t'was the best I could do.  
**Disclaimer**: No copyright infringement intended. JK Rowling and her publishers own all familiar characters.

* * *

**One year later**

"You're bloody kidding!" James Potter exclaimed when he finished skimming the case file he and his partner, Sirius Black, had been handed.

"No I'm not." said Jonathan Evans solemnly but James was sure he could see a smirk in the corner of his lips and an amused twinkle in his eye.

"The two of you wanted more undercover work and I also know for a fact you've reached a dead end with those murders."

"Yeah but-"

"No arguing. It's either this or I'm sending Black in with someone else and you'll get more paperwork," warned Jon, shutting James up rather quickly. "Besides, I thought you'd be a little more comfortable with this than the other boys."

"You thought _I'd_ be more comfortable doing undercover work at a gay club." Sirius said with a hint of bitterness.

"Now, don't get upset. I admit that was my initial thought. It's actually Shacklebolt's case. Hell, he's been researching the best…uh, idiosyncrasies for this mission but poor bastard's come down with a nasty bug."

"Shacklebolt researching how to be gay?" laughed James. "You sure he won't be better by tomorrow night? I'd pay to see him there."

"As you two will read in the file, you're on the look out for Rabastan Lestrange." Jon continued as if James hadn't spoken. "He deals mostly with drugs and trafficking. We've been trying to find an excuse to arrest him but he's a shifty bastard. Apparently he's a regular at this Lorca place and we got a tip that he's reserved a private room Thursday night and may reserve more within the next couple of weeks."

"So you want us to go in, find him and see if he commits a crime? Likely prostitution from the sounds of it." asked Sirius with a skeptical brow.

"I admit it's not the most flawless of plans but it's the best we've got so far. Shacklebolt's been watching Lestrange for ages but nothing so far. Honestly, I don't expect you to find anything big. Just scout the place, see how easy it would be to monitor it, ask the employees and try to gauge loyalties- that sort of thing. Don't go around waving your badges to get in. We don't know if the club's working with Lestrange." James and Sirius still looked a little unconvinced and honestly, Jonathan didn't blame them. He had got so desperate with this case lately that he was now just hoping for a lucky break. With a sigh, he continued.

"Look you two, I know this sounds like a shitty plan but I'm running out of options here. Just-just look at it as good intelligence gathering practice, yeah?" Jonathan held his breath for a few moments, as James and Sirius seemed to have a silent conversation via eyebrow movements. He let out a breath once they agreed to take the case.

"So go in, find him, watch him and ask around. No problem," assured James, "it'll be a walk in the park. Just a crowded park with men who want to shag me-"

"Don't worry James," smirked Sirius, "you're _not_ the gay man's wet dream."

* * *

Looking at his half naked reflection in the mirror, Remus frowned. Some of the smaller scratches were practically gone and others were bound to fade over time but he still had a few large slashes that would never leave. Add to that his growing gut and he was practically grotesque.

"You're not fat." Lily insisted when she walked past his open doorway to find Remus staring at himself for the hundredth time.

"You only say that because you're kind. You can admit it, I'm lumpy." replied Remus with a melodramatic edge, making Lily roll her eyes.

"Stop complaining you girl!" ordered Lily but she regretted it when she saw the sudden look of alarm in Remus' eyes as he started to unconsciously slouch and study his feet.

Cursing her lack of finesse in dealing with slightly damaged persons, Lily walked into the room and decided to take a different tact. Wrapping her arms around Remus' waist, she turned him around so he would be forced to look at her.

"You look gorgeous Remus," she said sincerely, earning a small smile from him as she kissed the end of his nose. "Maybe a little rounder in the middle but it's not like anyone notices. I'm going to tell you once more, those scars don't hinder you from anything. Please, don't be afraid to go out and practice again."

Since Remus and Lily moved in together, he had taken a job in the gentlemen's department of Marks and Spencer, refusing to do anymore dancing. No matter how many times Lily begged, commanded or manipulated, Remus wouldn't go back to the one thing that had made him happy his whole life. After a while, she left it alone thinking he needed to get over things himself but it was still frustrating.

"Who's going to hire a dancer with gashes all over his body?"

"It doesn't matter as long as you can dance! Wait here!" Suddenly, Lily was running out and in a few minutes, came back with a bottle of vodka. With a mischievous smile, she started to drink straight out of the Grey Goose bottle with a certain amount of feminine grace that only Lily could pull off.

"I'm starting to worry for your health Lils. It seems you want to fix everything with alcohol." commented Remus lightly once she took the bottle away from her mouth and wiped it with the back of her free hand. Lily just looked sharply at him but otherwise ignored his jab and handed him the bottle before digging through his clothes. With little interest, Remus watched her throw his clothes all over the floor and took a few sips from the bottle.

"We're going to Lorca tonight."

"What? No-"

"No arguing! You know, you never did go and see the Federico portraits I did there a few weeks ago. If you're not gonna dance at least come in to see my beautiful artwork," she cooed and pretended Remus didn't snort in disbelief. "Come on! Let's start the night with a few drinks." Lily announced as she stood up triumphantly waving a pair of leather trousers in the air.

"I'm not sure Lily..." Remus trailed off. Lily threw the trousers at his chest and continued to look through his closet.

"Derek's working tonight. We can keep him company if you don't want to ogle my art."

"He's a go-go dancer at a gay club. I don't think having company will be a problem for him." Remus said dryly as Lily threw another random item of clothing at him.

"You know, if you won't go sober, I'll just get you drunk so I can take advantage of your lowered inhibitions. Besides it's a _club_. No one is going to pay any close attention to you if that's what worries you. Now then, we have your outfit sorted now help me find one. Do you think I should wear a wig?" Lily continued. Plucking the vodka from his hands, she turned around and walked towards her room and left Remus no choice but to follow her.

"As you're planning on going to a gay club catered to gay men, I highly doubt what you wear matters."

* * *

They had been waiting outside of the club for over two hours now and James was getting fidgety. The man never could stay still for too long, not even when he and Sirius were young boys. They were finally at the front of the line so were due to enter any time now...

At least Sirius hoped so, there was only so much nervous twitching that a friend could take before homicidal impulses actually seemed like a good option. Sirius was very tempted to mention Lestrange's name to the bouncer but didn't want to risk anything this early. Both men had agreed before arriving that they shouldn't ask the bouncers any in depth questions about Lestrange. If anyone at the club had loyalties to Rabastan, it would be those in charge of his protection.

"If Rabastan is in there, anything criminal he _is_ doing- we'd have missed it with all this waiting!" James whispered testily into Sirius's ear and Sirius agreed, not mentioning the reason they were waiting so long was because James had made them late in the first place. He'd give anything to be allowed to show the bodyguard his badge, though he had to admit it was quite the ego bruiser when the guard had directed him to the end of the line in the first place. Sirius was sort of used to his looks and charm getting him things. Though as he neared thirty, gravity, greasy pub meals and lack of exercise persisted; his 'charms' were really only successful in getting a free coffee every so often.

Suddenly two loud laughs brought Sirius and James out of their stewing. Coming down the street were a ginger woman and dirty blonde haired man, both looking somewhat drunk. They started to spin clumsily in large circles as they neared the club entrance and suddenly the young woman started to belt.

"Just dance! Gonna be okay! Dada dodo! Just dance! Spin that record baby!"

The blonde man who was twirling her laughed and joined in before they finally staggered up towards the bodyguard. One look at the woman and James was clutching Sirius's arm with wide eyes. Quickly, James pushed Sirius forward and futilely tried to hide behind his friend. It didn't stop him from peeking at her with huge eyes. She had a styled bob haircut and a skinny, small-breasted figure. But Sirius was drawn to the bubbly redhead's friend.

The smiling, dirty blonde man looked to be in his mid-twenties. There were two scars on his face that was almost invisible in the dark lighting but instead of ruining his looks, in Sirius's opinion it added a rough charm. He looked handsome enough in general but not flat out gorgeous. At least not handsome enough to garner a free entrance to one of London's most difficult gay club to set foot in. Tight leather trousers and an un-tucked button up shirt revealed a body that wasn't spectacular but nonetheless, one that Sirius wouldn't object to dancing up against.

Much to the surprise of Sirius and James, the couple was let in without a second thought. The man thanked the amused guard and the woman jumped up to give him a kiss on the cheek. Once they were through the doors, Sirius spoke up.

"What was that about?"

"That was Lily Evans. Jonathan Evan's niece. I've met her a couple of times and didn't want her to recognise me." explained James, calming down a little but still looking star struck.

"You mean you hit on her and she told you to piss off and now you're embarrassed?"

"_No_!" James blushed. "Though I might have been a little eccentric a few times in front of her. She's prettier than I remembered."

"Well tonight you're into blokes so stay away," Sirius warned James before turning towards the bodyguard. "Hey big guy, if I kissed you on the cheek, would you let us in?"

Not to his surprise, he didn't get an answer back but James did seem to snap out of his drooling-soiree and laughed.


	3. Chapter 2

**A/N**: I am SO sorry about the long wait...but here it is! :D

**Warning and Disclaimer**: This story has sexual situations between men, if it's not your thing or offends you, please do not read. Oh, and JKR and her publishers ownall, no copyright infringement is intended.

* * *

"Move while your watching me dance with the enemy  
Here is my remedy"  
-Little Boots, _Remedy_

James' fidgeting was not given enough time to break Sirius' patience, therefore not leading to his demise and the two men were eventually allowed to enter Lorca (though the combined entrance fee of fourteen quid didn't help their moods). They walked in, relieved at no longer feeling useless but still nervous and unsure of what to expect. After trading in their jackets at coat check, they made their way towards the main room, already able to feel the pulsating music and body heat that was almost tangible in the air. Also permeating through the club was a strong smell of various colognes, sweat and bizarrely, roses.

Unlike the laser filled raves of their youth, the club had an elegant and somewhat soft design. The dance floor was a pit in the two-story room with a bar on the further end of the long room. Lounges were set up on both floors of the opened right side while the left of the room had a dark wall full of paintings. The golden-framed paintings fit together like puzzle pieces, surrounding a large window that was curtained on the inside. Dark chandeliers hung from the ceiling and the monotony of the visible walls were broken every so often by reflective tiles that acted like disco balls when the right light hit.

The combination of the room's design its coloured lighting evoked a melancholy that had haunted Sirius for a majority of his life; always there no matter how hard he tried to ignore it. For some inexplicable reason, the dancing crowd mesmerized and beckoned him as they moved carefree to the same beat that had found its way into Sirius' pulse. It felt like a heartbeat taking over his body, simultaneously cradling him and everyone else in the club. The atmosphere was healing and he wanted to stay here a bit longer, not having to worry about the mission.

Sirius could feel James move closer to him in uncertainty, causing him to take a closer look at the club. Go-go dancers took residence on various platforms scattered around the dance floor, moving seductively in their scant attire. Sirius had a feeling they were a large part of what was making James tense.

On a nearby platform, Sirius recognised the woman James had drooled over dancing with a go-go boy. Soon, she hopped down and the dancer pulled her reluctant companion up from the crowd. The blonde man looked shy and comfortable as he nursed what Sirius assumed was a beer bottle in his hands. He suddenly laughed as the go-go dancer twirled and dipped him, causing some of the beer to spill. Taking a long gulp from the bottle, the man finally started to dance with abandon, giving up to the pulse of the club. Longing set in Sirius' stomach when he watched the two men dance.

"I think it would be best if we split up." James shouted into Sirius's ear, reminding him why they were there in the first place.

"If you go looking for Lily, I'll shoot you," replied Sirius, "but don't get scared if someone rubs up against you."

James replied with a small shove before the two men parted ways.

* * *

Lily laughed as beer showered her. She twirled in circles with her arms in the air, pleased that pushing Remus up on the platform hadn't ended badly. Seeing Remus so happy made her a little smug because it confirmed she was right all along. All Remus needed to do was have a few drinks and dance. Dancing was medicinal to him.

As she watched Remus laugh with a relaxed ease she hadn't seen in such a long time, an idea popped into her head. No one noticed as she weaved her way through the throng of sweaty bodies to find Mark Beckett.

Mark was the owner of Lorca and best place to find him- if he happened to be in- was his office. She made her way towards the VIP rooms and the guard showed her in before pointing towards a hidden door that led to Mark's office.

When Mark saw Lily, he smiled and gave her a kiss on the cheek before setting her down on a seat in front of his desk. The sound proof office looked nothing like the rest of the club due to the white sterile modernist theme. The only reminder of the world outside was the wall of small TV screens behind Mark's desk, showing security camera feeds.

"To what do I owe your lovely company?" asked Mark, a distinguished fifty-year-old with graying hair. Despite the way he sunk into his chair and sluggishly shuffled papers around his desk, he was normally an energetic and jovial man.

"You're still happy with the new paintings I assume?" she asked, referring to the new portraits she painted for the club.

"Oh, ecstatic! Gives the club a new feel without having to change much."

"Good! Because I was wondering if I could call in that favour you said you owed." smiled Lily as she scooted her chair a little closer to the desk. Mark raised his eyebrow when he noticed the slight reddening of Lily's cheeks telling him she had already drunk quite a bit.

"So soon?"

"You remember Remus of course." Lily continued and Mark frowned slightly as he nodded. After hearing about the situation between Remus and Fenrir, he had felt guilty. Deep down, he knew his lax handling of employees and club visitor relations played a large role in what had transpired.

"Well, he wants to dance here again."

"Does he really?" Mark wasn't too happy at hearing that. He had only seen Remus in person once since the attack and he looked very much out of shape. Whilst Mark would like to give Remus the job, he didn't want to lower Lorca's standards. The go-go dancers needed a certain body type and stamina that quite frankly, he wasn't sure Remus had anymore.

"Yep! So, what do you say?"

"Well...I'm not sure Lily," he avoided eye contact with Lily while struggling to find the best way to say it, "Remus isn't too...fit is he?" The scowl on Lily's face made him feel worse.

"He doesn't look hideous!" growled Lily, making Mark wince slightly, "I mean, just put him in something that shows off his better bits! It's not like it's his fault he looks like that! He didn't ask to bump into an abusive sicko!"

"I know Lily, but Lorca has standards-"

"Fuck the standards! You owe him more than you owe me! Besides, he can exercise. He'll look better _eventually_. Didn't you say you were losing a couple of dancers soon? Remus was one of your best dancers! How can you just say no because he looks a little different? You better not say it's because of his scars! Mark, don't be a fucking arse because _you're_ the reason that all this shit-"

"All right!" Mark gave up, rubbing his face. "I'll give him a chance. I've been planning on changing the outfits anyway, I'll see what we can draw up for him."

"Really? Oh that's wonderful! I knew you were a good man, Mark! Just put him in one of those shape changing knickers and no one will know anything." Lily stood up and practically jumped across the desk to hug Mark's neck and give him a kiss on the cheek. Normally, Mark wouldn't have folded too easily but he was already stressed with the club's lowering profit and a manipulative bitch playing the guilt card wasn't what he needed right now. Even though he didn't think it was the best idea, he felt the gnawing of his conscience lessen and that was almost worth it.

"See it as my attempt at apologising about the whole..." he waved his hands vaguely, "Fenrir thing."

"The past is the past right? Come on, let's celebrate! You've got a free room open? Whip out the contract, order a bottle of champagne and I'll get Remus!"

* * *

With a slight frown, Sirius admitted defeat and walked away from the private rooms' entrance. There was no way the bodyguards ware going to let him in. He had even dropped Lestrange's name but the men looked at him blank faced, claiming there was no Lestrange listed under reserved rooms. They also claimed to not know anything about the name, as they supposedly had been hired a few weeks prior but were nice enough to suggest a pseudonym had been used that Sirius was yet to be informed of. Instead, he decided to make his way towards the gents and texted James to meet him there for a quick meeting to see if he had any more luck.

When Sirius walked through the swinging door, he was mildly surprised to find the blonde man from earlier clutching a sink. Although Sirius would never admit it, he had been watching the man whenever he caught sight of him. Something inside his chest resembling envy ached as Sirius remembered watching the young man act so carefree. His hair was now wet and plastered on his head; water droplets trailing freely down his face and neck

Sirius noticed the young man sway a little and luckily, was able to catch him in time before he fell. Taking a good look at his pupils, he concluded the man was just drunk and not on any illegal substances.

"Are you all right?" asked Sirius, when he noticed the man was just staring at him and starting to nestle into his chest. The man smelled nice though, despite the underlying smell of alcohol. It also felt so good to hold someone like this- to hold someone he was attracted to because it had been way too fucking long since he had let himself. Before Sirius knew what he was doing, he started to lean in and quickly found his lips on top of the other man's

The kiss started soft and warm but soon led to tongues searching, teeth clashing, lips nipping, hair tugging, hungry moaning, hands groping. Sirius felt searing heat rise up as he hungered for any kind of touch. Beads of water from the blonde hair boiled as they hit Sirius' skin. He pushed the man up against a wall around the moment he realised his trousers were being undone.

Right now, Sirius didn't want to consider the consequences of what appeared to be him about to have sex in a public toilet with a stranger so he focused more on sucking on the other man's neck and trying to elicit more moans from him that sent delicious shivers down his own back. They broke apart when a voice cried out.

"_Bloody fucking tits Sirius_!" exclaimed James as he walked into the toilets and automatically recognised one of the groaning men. The man he didn't know was looking back between him and Sirius before something like drunken horror crossed his face.

"Is'at your boyfriend?" the man asked Sirius but stumbled out the door before receiving an answer.

"Intelligence gathering successful then?" James asked sarcastically as he crossed his arms disapprovingly. He was a little upset that he had been told to walk in on Sirius feeling up another bloke. Not that there was anything wrong with it- just was he was about to pick up the nerve to join Lily who had been dancing on the bar. It was dark so she might not notice who he was; besides, it was probably as close as he'd likely get to the beauty if she was still with that greasy haired boyfriend of hers...

Anyway, it seemed hypocritical that Sirius had told James to stay away from the pretty ginger when he was being joyfully groped in the gents. James was going to comment further but he noticed that Sirius looked like he wanted to crawl up in foetal position and rock back and forth as he tucked himself back into his trousers. Now was not the time to make any jokes so James went straight into detective mode and asked Sirius what he had discovered.

"I couldn't get into the VIP rooms and the body guards claimed they didn't know anything about the name Lestrange. They did say that a lot of higher paying guest might use pseudonyms. You find anything?" Sirius answered once he pulled himself together and James nodded.

"I've been asking the bartenders if they knew anything. Said things have got strict around here when it comes to the employees getting to know any clubber, normal or VIP. Something about an attack on a former dancer and someone who used to be high profile here but couldn't get names. Also, no one _really_ knows who's in the rooms besides the owner and whoever books them. I suppose the guards just have the names on paper but it doesn't mean anything to them."

"Employees must not be involved in anything then if that's true. Maybe we could bug one of them next time if they're going in. Or we could try and get someone undercover here."

"Yeah, wanna go back out and see what else we can find?"

Sirius agreed and let James walk out first. He waited a few minutes to wash the blush off his face with cool water and collected himself with a few steady breaths before following.

* * *

As the door swung open, Remus jumped and looked around to find a very handsome man walking in. Presently, Remus was drunk but refused to admit it. Before they had arrived at Lorca, he and Lily finished off that half full bottle of Grey Goose. Once at the club, he and Lily were given quite a few free drinks, not to mention the champagne they drank in Mark's office. Last thing he clearly remembered before trying to sober up in the toilets was Lily dancing on the bar. Sobering up unintentionally turned into washing his whole head but he couldn't help it. The water felt so soothing on his hot skin.

Blinking a few times, Remus tried to steady the spinning room. Next thing he knew, he was in the arms of the attractive man with black hair and compassionate grey eyes. Remus barely processed that he was being asked whether or not he was okay, focusing more on the berceuse voice and how it made him lean into the grip. He wanted to say he was more than okay; that being held by someone this way was just what he needed, even if no amount of alcohol could get him to ask.

Suddenly, the man's face started to inch towards Remus's and Remus gladly met him halfway.

A distinct smell of the club and a new musky scent drowned Remus the moment his lips met the other man's. Lighter than air elation filled Remus' stomach as the two plundered each other's mouths and hands started to wander. Remus was backed into a wall as he clutched the black hair with one hand while the other found its way towards the man's trousers. His leg was in the midst of being wrapped around the man's waist when a shout rang out.

"_Bloody fucking tits Sirius_!" another dark haired man with glasses shouted. Remus quickly sobered up as he noticed how the two men were staring at each other. His stomach dropped to his feet like a heavy stone in an empty well. Not wanting to stick around to hear the truth of their relationship or the shouts that were likely to follow, Remus ran out as fast as he could.

As he stumbled out of the toilets, Remus could feel his shoulders and face heating up again, this time from embarrassment. He felt so foolish and willed the ground to swallow him up. When he realised that wasn't going to happen, he did the next best thing and headed straight for the bar with the goal to get as drunk as possible.


	4. Chapter 3

Pain shot through Remus' head the moment he woke up. He didn't even bother trying to open his eyes. Sunlight leaked through the blinds and played lightly on his closed eyelids like an insistent fly. He tried to swat it away before realising it was pointless and refocused his energy in clumsily feeling the nightstand for a glass of water that wasn't there.

Blood throbbed slowly through his brain, leaving aching trails through his blood vessels at every heartbeat. When he tried to roll out of bed, he found himself stuck on the mattress. Remus reopened his eyes to find two bodies sleeping on top of him; a red head and dark skinned man who could be identified as Lily Evans and Derek Jordan, respectively.

Choosing to stay still for a little moment longer in hopes that it would alleviate the pounding in his skull, Remus focused on what he could salvage from his memory of the night before. There was Lorca and Lily had talked to Mark Beckett for some reason. Then there was booze, dancing, more booze. A sink and grey eyes. Then more booze, dancing on the bar, a skinned knee that may or may not have been his and then…nothing.

One of the bodies on top of him started to stir. The movement was followed by a moan of pain.

"Oh, my head." Lily groaned and the sound caused Remus to clutch his own forehead.

"Shut up! God you're loud." whined Remus.

"_You_ shut up!" Lily countered weakly as she rolled off of Remus and the bed. At this point, Derek also started to wake.

"Morning all," Derek said cheerfully as he stretched like a contented cat and generally took a long while before he finally moved off of Remus. "Waking up in a bed with two other people. Now that's what I call a good night. Though in a perfect world the third person would be a man. No offence Lils."

"Ugh, my knee," was the reply.

"Well, I think the correct greeting would be good afternoon seeing as it's two."

"My god, two?" Remus questioned. He was having trouble sitting but finally succeeded when Derek offered a hand. Lily had already started to stumble towards the toilet.

"Yep!" Derek popped the p and Remus fell backwards, pulling a pillow over his head.

"Why are you so cheery? And loud?"

"Because I don't drink half the bar last night."

Remus couldn't really argue that point so just made an offhand comment that was swallowed by the pillow. Amused, Derek offered to make breakfast and after what he assumed was a nod, pulled Remus off the bed to force some water down his throat.

After Remus drank four glasses of water, he made his way towards the bathroom and was passed by a grumbling Lily with a towel tied around her right knee. He did his best to wash his face and get rid of the fuzz on his tongue before walking back to the kitchen.

The smell of frying eggy bread hit him as he walked into the kitchen. The favourite morning dish of his childhood made his stomach lurch dangerously. Lily was sitting on the table staring at a cup of tea and Derek was humming cheerfully at the stove in only his briefs. With a soft thud, Remus sat next to Lily and Derek placed another cup of tea in front of him. Remus tentatively sipped at it but as his stomach turned, he thought it would be best to wait.

Once Derek had finished the late breakfast, he sat down at the table and joyfully ate all the food on his plate as well as some of the bread from Remus' and Lily's. He made chatter about nothing in general as his two friends picked at their food and didn't appear offended when they weren't able to finish it. About twenty minutes into the breakfast (and some painkillers later), Lily and Remus appeared to be doing a bit better.

"What nights did you plan on taking at Lorca?" Derek asked drinking down the rest of his tea and making his way towards the sink.

"What are you talking about?" Remus asked back. He honestly had no idea that Derek was talking about. Lily shifted in her seat but he wasn't able to tell if it was because she was nervous or not. Either way, he could feel his stomach sinking for some reason.

"Mark gave you a job to dance at Lorca again and you said yes. Lily was babbling about contracts at one point last night so I don't know whether or not you signed one." Derek said as he rinsed his dishes. He stood at an angle so he could still see Remus' reaction.

"What? Why?"

"Because I thought it would be good for you," Lily said confidently. "I'm tired of seeing you moping about. You actually seem to be enjoying yourself last night when you were dancing. It made sense at the time to ask Mark and it still makes sense now."

"But Lily-"

"God, can we talk about it when the sound of your voice doesn't make my brain bleed?" snapped Lily and Remus abruptly stopped to clench his teeth in a mixture of pain, anger and apprehension. Burying his face in his arms and curling up in his chair slightly, Remus tried to ignore the small voice in the back of his mind that whispered she was right.

* * *

The day was going to be bleak. Sirius could feel it in his bones as he sipped cold coffee that didn't even have the right ratio of sugar to cream. The morning had started with not enough Weetabix and too much sour milk, followed by all the newspapers announcing the Tory party had parliament majority with a bloody huge picture of their leader, Douglas Avery, on every sodding newspaper cover. Now, Sirius had just finished complaining to Jon Evans about how Lestrange didn't show up only to be told that he was caught on tape in an armed robbery of a small shop and a warrant of arrest was already underway.

"So last night was for nothing huh?" chuckled James as he patted Sirius lightly on the back, "Is it just me our do your ears still ring? God, when did we get so old and boring that a night out at the club gets us knackered?"

"I don't know, suppose it just crept up on us." Sirius mumbled distractedly while examining his coffee.

James frowned a little at the faraway look Sirius gave his cup. After knowing each other for more years than they'd care to count, James had started to realise the dwindle in personality that he had gravitated towards as a young boy. As they got older, the sparkle in Sirius' eyes dulled and his loud teasing had become mumbled observations. While the cheeky teenager would sometimes shine though, James knew that he was losing his friend. He took a few moments to collect himself as he tried to find the words to discuss his concerns.

"Sirius, I- I mean, if you want to go back to that club...that is I mean feel free yeah?"

"What?"

"Well I mean of course be safe and all but- uh. You know, I know you're not going to find someone if you go to the pub with us guys all the time."

"James, I'm fine."

"You sure? You had your tongue down a stranger's throat last night and I can't remember the last time that's happened. Are you fine? I mean, are you lonely or something? Sirius you're my best mate. You can tell me anything. " assured James and he saw that he might be getting through. After a moment, Sirius looked sincere and started to speak.

"Sometimes I-" the confession was never finished as Jon burst out of his office.

"All right, Potter, Black with me. We're getting a couple of uniforms and arresting Rabastan Lestrange."

One of the 'uniforms' they were able to get a hold of was police constable Arthur Weasley. He was a cheery ginger man who apparently took an active interest in anthropology. Sirius found himself in the back of the police car at the request of James. The messy haired man begged Sirius to let him have a bit of alone time with Jon in order to covertly ask about Lily, who had been on his mind most of the night. Knowing James' tact, he was likely to be threatened with his own warrant of arrest if he made any move to talk to Lily.

As they drove towards Lestrange's house, Arthur explained the finer points of the ancient Roman influences on modern day Britain to Sirius. It was actually quite fascinating and showed a depth that couldn't be gained from _Time Team._ Arthur was quite excited to have someone who took an active interest in the conversation and Sirius noticed Arthur's fellow constable roll his eyes every so often in the rear view mirror.

Unfortunately, Sirius wasn't able to ask James how his conversation with Jon went when they first arrived at Rabastan Lestrange's residence. Despite already knowing the address, Sirius was mildly surprised to see Lestrange lived in a four-floored Georgian terrace house. It was a cheery light blue, sticking out from the other cream coloured homes surrounding it but that was really the only thing about the building that set it apart on the street. Each building was an elegant classical style and symmetrical with three windows on each floor.

Sirius was quite impressed, given that he pictured the ideal location for a drug dealer pimp to be a dirty flat hidden away in a seedy alleyway. There was a certain amount of irony in a house paid for by drug money being the most visible home of what appeared to be a rich, snobby community. In fact, Sirius noticed the nosey neighbours peering through windows at the police cars. Next to him, James whistled a dropping note, also clearly impressed.

"Lestrange must have robbed a _lot_ of small stores to get a place like this." James commented, Sirius and the PCs agreed.

"Well I can tell you prison is going to be one hell of a change." Jon barked distastefully before knocking on the front door.

After a few moments, the door was opened by a tall, lean man in this early thirties with a glint in his eye and an eyebrow arch that Sirius didn't trust. He had straight brown hair that mirrored the suit he was wearing. A neat cut with a large amount of precision put in to create the picture of a very professional man that one would expect to be a lawyer. Though knowing Lestrange's situation, it wouldn't be very surprising.

"We've got a warrant of arrest for Rabastan Lestrange." Jon announced and the man leaned on the doorframe leisurely.

"May I see it please?" asked the man, not worried or unsettled by what was happening. Jon handed over the warrant for the man to briefly skim through it. There was something about him that made the group uneasy. Normally during an arrest, there was arguing and more than often struggling. To the very least angry words were exchanged but this man seemed calm and collected.

"Well Lestrange, looks like they caught you." he called smoothly into the house, still not moving from the doorframe.

"Excuse me sir?" inquired Arthur kindly, a little confused at how the situation was turning out.

"Oh how rude of me. I'm an acquaintance of Mr. Lestrange. He will be down in a moment. Please, won't you come in?"

The suited man led them into the drawing room that was tastefully decorated and much like the front of the house, was bright and comfortable. The officers were asked to sit down, a request that they all declined. The man then proceeded to offer them coffee and tea. It was all so nonchalant to the man that it completely infuriated all the officers involved. Finally, Jon had enough of the formalities.

"Oi, what's your game? Trying to distract us while your friend makes a break for it?"

"Oh I assure that it's nothing of the case. I can't believe you would think of me capable of such despicable behaviour. I believe that Rabastan is changing into a more suitable outfit. Now please, sit down," replied the man, the only change about him was the raise of his brows in disbelief.

"Look, we just came to arrest Mr. Lestrange." Sirius cut in, knowing that if things kept on going like it was, Jon was bound to do something rash. He was met with an inquiring look from the man who searched his face for something. It unnerved Sirius but just as soon as he had started, recognition crossed the man's face and was replaced with a calculating smirk.

"And you will, in fact, I think I hear him on the stairs."

Soon, they all heard steps nearing them and through one of the room's opposite doorway, Rabastan Lestrange briskly walked in adjusting the cuffs and tie of his expensive and well-fitted grey suit.

"Sorry to keep you officers waiting. I saw the car and knew that you'd found me but I still wanted to make a good impression."

"I'd save the good impression for the judge." James smirked and Jon commanded the uniforms to take out the handcuffs. The PCs were a little ruffled at being ordered about so rudely by CID but Lestrange didn't notice the gruff tone of voice.

"I promise you constables, it won't be needed. I go willingly and quietly." Rabastan took one step toward the PCs and offered his arms. The two PCs looked at each other in doubt before deciding to cuff Lestrange despite his docile behavior. They didn't want to be responsible for him escaping. As an extra precation, they stood on either side of Rabastan and grabbed an arm each just to make sure he couldn't to run.

"See you Riddle." smirked Rabastan as he was being led out of the drawing room. The man who was now branded with the name Riddle nodded in response but still didn't seem affected by what was going on. There was something about his air that made him appear rather pleased, as if all was going according to plan. Something wasn't right and Sirius didn't like it. Trying to calm his nerves, he came up with the theory that maybe Riddle had been the one calling CID with information about Rabastan.

* * *

A loud buzzing jarred Remus who was still recovering from the hangover from hell. He was lying on the sofa with a pair of Lily's large sunglasses and a cold compress on his forehead. While he had admittedly become better, he was still in no mood for interacting with anything that wasn't cool, dark, soft -and most of all- quiet.

"Lily! Make it stop!" Remus whined in manner that he hoped was more pitiful than pathetic. He listened to Lily mumble about the male inability to tolerate pain before asking who was at the door through the intercom.

"Dora!" answered a voice that still sounded joyful despite the crackling intercom.

"Come on up love!" Lily encouraged in a voice that Remus decided was much too cheerful for a woman who had drank as much as she had the night before. It had only been a couple of hours since they woke up and there was no way Lily could be fully recovered. Remus decided she must drink so much nowadays that she either got over hangovers faster or just got used to functioning with them. Normally this train of thought would make him consider sitting a reluctant Lily down and talk about her 'problem' but right now he was slightly envious.

"What does Dora want?" asked Remus as the pound of her shoes on the stairs got louder. Each one assaulting his brain.

"Painting lessons! Shit, I invited her here today because I was going to make dinner for us. _Fuck_! I can't believe I forgot! We don't have any real food in the fridge." rambled Lily as she frantically tore through the fridge and cupboards.

"With all that alcohol you have in your system, we could ring you out and make- lets see," Derek walked into the room fresh from a shower with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He joined Lily in the search through the kitchen. "Well looks like you could make her an apple mojito. Oh! A tiny aged strawberry daiquiri-"

"You keep out of this. We are _not_ going to start this!" complained Lily as she finally concluded her search was useless. The shouting started to make Remus comfortable and he started to curl up into a ball. Lily and Derek were unaware of their effect on him so they continued. Suddenly, Lily noticed Derek's lack of clothes. "Derek Jorden! Go put something on! You can't greet her naked!" Just as Lily ushered Derek into Remus's room, Nymphadora Tonks burst through the door.

"Hi!" A short eleven-year-old girl burst through the door. She wore black skinny jeans, a Weird Sisters hoodie, large boots and thick eyeliner that made a small statement of rebellion, foreshadowing her future teenage self. Shoulder length brown hair was left down to hide her face but she constantly pushed it behind her ears. A look of affection broke out on her face when she saw Remus but it became a frown when he acknowledged her.

"Ugh!" groaned Remus from his spot on the sofa.

"Don't mind him," Lily assured when she saw Dora's ever-present adoration of Remus mix with worry. "He's got a tiny headache and is being an infant about it."

"Tiny? It feels like elephants have stampeded over my head running from a rat made its nest on my tongue for good measure. I don't know why you're so cheery, you drank more than I did...I think."

"Oh be a man Remus. Like I said," continued Lily with a smirk as she pulled Dora in for a hug, "tiny little headache."

"My mum always makes my dad a banana milkshake when he's had too much at the pub the night before." offered Tonks, looking forlornly at Remus as she sat down her bag of paints and canvasses on the ground.

"Well molding fruit and ice cream does seem to be the few food products that these two have." stated Derek as he walked into the living area. Tonks barely suppressed a happy squeak of surprise when she saw him. She jumped up and almost knocked the man over with a hug.

"Glad to see my fan club still approves of me. Now we all know I'm fantastic but how are you doing Dora?"

"Good! I didn't know you were going to be here."

"And miss my favourite female under 16? Never!"

"Okay change of plans!" Lily announced as Derek spun a laughing Dora. "How about us three go out and get something to eat later instead of me cooking?"

"I vote for kebabs!" Dora said automatically.

"And we can get the grumpy one a banana milkshake." agreed Derek. Remus just groaned and buried his head into the couch. He vaguely heard Lily and Dora banging about, getting easels and canvases up. There was also some giggling but he was able to shut it out as he fell asleep.

Remus woke hours later with a start to sound of a slamming of a door. It took a moment to get his bearings straight. The pain in his head was just an echo of the hangover and his appetite had returned. Dora's easel had been moved so it was right in front of him and he saw that they had used him as a model.

"You make a wonderful still life." Lily commented as she placed a kebab on a plate. Dora was next to her with a shy smile but he didn't see Derek.

"How are you feeling?" asked Dora.

"Better, the smell of food doesn't make me want to gag anymore."

Almost timidly, Dora walked over and handed him a banana milkshake and a bar of his favourite chocolate. She beamed at his thanks and Lily fought the urge to laugh. Handing Remus the plate, she made up an excuse to leave the two alone for a bit and let them catch up. There really wasn't anything cuter than a schoolgirl crush, she thought gleefully.


	5. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Just wanted to thanks you guys for any comment, story fave, story alert, author fave etc. that you've given me after reading this story. It really makes my day brighter and encourages me to further this story even though I haven't been very good lately with replies. So, this chapter is dedicated to all you lovely people :)

(oh and total plug for the Harry Potter Last Author Standing contest on livejournal. Voting for the first round will be starting soon, check it out! Link in my profile.)

* * *

It had only been a couple of days but James' new obsession with Lily Evans had started to grate on Sirius' nerves. He was fine with listening to James babble about the virtues of Lily because it was amusing to see him get all worked up. He didn't mind James spamming his inbox with links to the different art pieces she created because she was actually very good. He was even all right with him tracking down pictures of her that weren't blocked on Facebook by looking at her friend list and finding which of those accounts were open- although it was a little creepy. What he was _not_ okay with was the obsession costing him money.

Today, their lunch break had been taken in a pub by a crime site they had been called out to. Once it was apparent they were no longer needed, they had found the nearest place with food and beer. While it was frowned upon to drink during the day in their line of work, one pint couldn't hurt.

One pint, Sirius learned, _did_ hurt. During a jolly retelling of the information James had 'covertly' discovered from Jonathan Evans about his angelic niece, a forkful of chicken tikka masala had been thrown on the chest of Sirius' white shirt. No matter how Sirius fixed his jacket, the orange-red stain was still visible. There was no way Sirius was going back to work like that. While he normally wouldn't make a big issue of it, a CID Assistant Chief Constable was planning on popping in later during the afternoon and Sirius was trying for a promotion. A promotion (or at least a pay rise) was not likely to happen if he came in with curry chest. A profusely apologising James had offered to pay for Sirius' lunch so he could go down a few streets to the Marks and Spencer for a quick solution.

In the end, the quickest solution was just to buy another shirt and make James reimburse him. A man fixing a display in the men's department caught Sirius' eye and the disgruntled sergeant made his way over.

"Excuse me, I'm looking for a shirt. Could you help me?" To Sirius' surprise and utter horror, the worker turned around to reveal the same man from Lorca's toilets. The man smiled pleasantly and showed no signs of embarrassment or any real recognition. Unfortunately, Sirius could feel himself turning red.

It would be possible to claim that there was a vengeful God that had chosen to punish Sirius but in the end it was just easier to blame James.

"Of course, I'm assuming you're looking for a replacement for the shirt you have on now," Remus, at least according to his name tag, said with a hint of amusement as his eyes found the unattractive stain on Sirius' chest, "don't feel bad, it actually happens quite a bit during lunch hour."

"Um, yes..." mumbled Sirius, trying to keep a squeak out of his voice. This was the first man he had kissed in a long time and what might have been the first shag in years if James hadn't interrupted (it was always James' fault). Sirius had even secretly fantasised about him the night before and found it was much more effective than porn. Admittedly though, in the brighter lights of Marks and Spencer's men's department, he was a little paler and worse for wear than Sirius remembered.

The blonde haired, amber-eyed beauty obviously didn't remember Sirius, which likely meant Sirius' kisses weren't impressive enough to remember and that was a real kick to the shins. As Remus asked a few more questions about shirts, all Sirius could think about how was good his lips tasted and the various uses of said lips he had come up with the night before, causing his face to brighten up even more. Maybe there _was_ a vengeful God.

"I'm sorry, are you all right? You're looking a little red in the face." Remus asked with concern etched into his features. Much to Sirius' relief, another employee appeared to tell Remus he was wanted somewhere else before Sirius had to explain why his face was the shade of a maraschino cherry. As his heartbeat started to even out and the blood slowly receded from his face, Sirius found it a little easier to breath and concentrate on what the new employee (Aaron, his name tag said), was telling him. In the end, Sirius settled for a white shirt for eighteen pounds. Eighteen pounds that James now owed him in alcohol to aide in forgetting this far too embarrassing and unneeded shopping adventure.

On his way out, Sirius passed the still messy display which was now dubbed the 'scene of the maraschino cherry incident' only to see his little cousin, Nymphadora Tonks.

"Dora, what are you doing here?" he asked. It had been quite a while since he'd last seen the girl. Her hair had grown out a bit and she was constantly tucking it behind her ears. The overabundance of black in her outfit reminded Sirius of himself at about her age. If that was any indication that she was like him, her parents were in for one hell of a ride.

"Oh, you know, the usual," she shrugged, a little surprised and apparently unable to think of a good answer.

"Shouldn't you be in school?"

"It's a holiday." Dora said in a tone that said it was the most obvious thing in the world. Yep, Ted and Andromeda were definitely in for a horrible few years.

"Oh, so do you spend all your holidays at Marks and Spencer?"

"I've got a friend who works here. I just went down to buy something so the other workers wouldn't complain but now I can't find them."

"You're ten-"

"Eleven actually." interrupted Dora insulted but Sirius continued.

"Okay, you're eleven. What friend of yours could have gotten a job here?"

"My friend happens to be twenty-four and therefore quite eligible for a job here."

"Twenty-four and spending time with an eleven year old?" Sirius raised an eyebrow at the young girl who now had her arms crossed defensively. He felt sick to the stomach all of a sudden and it wasn't because of the pub food. "What do your parents think of that?"

"They don't mind. In fact they say he's a good influence on me. At least _he_ doesn't walk around with food stains his clothes."

"He? A he whose twice your age that enjoys your company?" Sirius decided to ignore the food stain jab. Suddenly though, the worry coiled in his gut suddenly snapped and he grabbed Dora's arm. He started to drag her towards the exit.

"Oi! What the hell do you think-"

"I'm taking you home to your mother!" Sirius said. Dora had finally gotten enough friction in her heels though, and was able to stop his dragging.

"_God_, if you want to talk to my parents about it then go ahead and call them. Mum complains you haven't talked to her in ages anyway."

"Eleven year old girls shouldn't be spending time with twenty-four year old perverts."

"He's not a pervert!" insisted Dora, violently taking her arm from Sirius' relaxing grip. Taking a deep breath, Sirius started to think for a moment and decided that it was best to not drag the young girl kicking and screaming, as that would probably brand _him_ as the pervert. He also knew that Dora had a relatively sensible head on her shoulders, at least before her hormones kicked in. Looking at his watch, he realised he was running out of time anyway and needed to be back at the station soon. Slightly defeated, Sirius sighed before looking her straight in the eyes.

"Whatever you do, don't go home with him, no matter what he says. Also if he does anything that makes you uncomfortable, _leave_. Kick him in the balls if necessary-"

"I'll refrain from taking candy from strangers while I'm at it."

"Oh, don't take food he gives you. Or drinks, or pills!"

"Don't you have somewhere to go?" Dora asked, a little bored of the conversation at his point. Before Sirius could say anything else, his mobile started to ring. It was James. With a final warning to Dora that he would talk to her parents later to make sure she did get home, Sirius made his way towards the exit.

* * *

When Remus walked into his flat that night, he dropped his coat near the door before walking over towards the sofa to plop down on it. Lily walked in to greet him but stopped halfway when she noticed the forlorn body. She was almost afraid to ask what was wrong.

"I just lost my job." He said, staring straight ahead.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry." Lily said sincerely, immediately walking over to wrap her arms around him. He leaned into the touch.

"Apparently they needed some cutbacks and I was one of them. Suppose I'll _have_ to take that dancing job. Though I don't think I'll be able to make enough to pay rent. Who's going to tip a fat dancer?"

Lily just tightened her grip on Remus, wrapping a leg around him for good measure.

"Oh Remus, it's going to be all right. We'll think up something. Think of it- think of it as a new beginning."

"I'm tired of new beginnings." He mumbled but Lily was not having any of it. She grabbed his face in her hands and gently pulled it towards hers so she could place a small kiss on his nose.

"You just haven't started the right one yet. Trust me."


	6. Chapter 5

**A/N**: This chapter dedicated to Mistress Lorescien, for her lovely, lovley comment that gave me warm fuzzies.

* * *

"I'll admit it's a little conservative." Derek observed, rubbing his chin. He and Lily had forced Remus model one of his new 'uniforms'. It consisted of high waist, shape fitting shorts, a thin tie, suspenders and a fedora.

"_This_ is conservative to you?" Remus asked incredulously. He felt very uncomfortable showing this much skin. Although he had been vigorously working out and dancing for the past couple of weeks, he was far from a rock hard body. The somewhat perverted glint in Lily's eyes wasn't helping matters either. At least it covered a majority of his scars.

"If you see what I have to wear then yes, it's conservative."

"I think it's dead sexy," Put in Lily. She was sitting cross-legged next to Derek on Remus' bed, sipping tea. "Can you move much in it?"

"Yeah," Remus did a few experimental bends and found that while the shorts weren't the most comfortable dance outfit, he could still move.

"Ayana will like it." Joked Derek.

"Whose Ayana?"

"She's the one that's always trying to molest me right?" asked Remus and Derek nodded.

"Molest? What? Who's trying to molest you?" Lily continued, annoyed at being ignored.

"It's just someone in Derek's dance class." Remus shrugged. Lily wasn't satisfied with the answer but decided to ask Remus about it later. She placed her tea on the bedside table before lying down with her feet on Derek's lap.

"Yeah, she's quite the little diva. Has a thing for white guys." Derek explained to Lily.

"Then why does she only bother me?" Asked Remus, pulling off his fedora before taking his own place on the bed. He started to absentmindedly stroke Lily's hair.

"Take it as a compliment."

"What do you actually do in that class anyway?" Lily asked abruptly, not liking the turn of the conversation.

"Oh, well just learning different routines. Everybody tries to input good ideas and such. Actually, Derek took some requests and a lot of the girls wanted to learn that dance- what was it?"

"The Single Ladies dance."

"You're learning the Single Ladies dance and you didn't invite me?" Burst Lily affronted, pushing herself up a little on her arms to look accusingly at Derek.

"I didn't know I was supposed to invite you to my class that people pay for because we're learning a certain dance."

"Remus doesn't pay."

"Remus is an exception who acts as a teacher's aid."

"Remus is right here." Remus mentioned but the two continued as if they didn't hear him.

"Come on Derek, give me one good reason why I can't just pop in?"

"You can't dance."

"What! How dare you-"

"Oh you know what I mean. You can dance but you're rubbish at choreography."

"You _know_ I love that song! I've been _dying_ to learn that dance for ages."

"Okay, okay, wait. Let's make a deal," Derek put his hands up in slight defeat. Lily raised her brow in interest and slight surprise that he had given up so easily. "I've got to go to a little family get together later this month. I'll teach you that dance personally on my own time if you go as my date."

"I thought you told your parents already."

"_Well_," Derek shifted uncomfortably under Lily's and Remus' questioning gazes, "I told my mum. And Jamal and Della have known for ages – you know my brother and sister-in-law. But I never got around to telling my dad."

"So you want me to be your beard?"

"He's been bugging me about settling lately. You're the only girl my dad doesn't know well who knows enough about me to pull it off. Besides, Della's up the duff so he won't pay too much attention to you. Don't look at me like that! I'll tell him after the brat's born. Give him a few moments of happiness."

"All right," Lily said, sitting up and crossing her legs, "but on the condition that you teach me the Single Ladies dance and two others of my choice."

The two scrutinized each other for a moment before Derek gave in and shook her hand. Satisfied, Lily slid off the bed and stretched before announcing she needed to work on the new gallery showing that was coming up the next week. Derek followed her out to let Remus change.

With a chuckle, Remus got off his bed and noticed the mug on the table. He took a quick sip but almost spat it back out. With a frown, he sniffed it and took a tentative sip before gagging at the brandy Lily had spiked the tea with.

**

* * *

**

Over the next couple of weeks, Sirius went back to Marks and Spencer on days when work ended relatively early. As there hadn't been any big cases for him it was most weekdays.

Sporadic excuses for being in the department ended with him leaving with ties, colognes, shoes, trousers, and a leather jacket that made him pleasantly nostalgic. The eventual dwindle of his savings was an unfortunate result. In the end, he admitted that his new compulsive shopping habit was idiotic, as he never saw the reason for it every time he walked in.

Eventually, Sirius gained the courage to actually one of the employees (many of which he was now on a first name basis) where Remus was. Sirius felt a lump form in this throat when he was told that Remus had been let go and hadn't been working for about a week now. He left dejected and feeling very much like a fool so he decided to just head over to the pub to see James and the other guys like he did every Friday night.

Friday Pub Night normally consisted of James, Peter Pettigrew, Frank Longbottom, Fabian Prewett and occasionally Kingsley Shacklebolt and Alastor Moody, to name a few. There was a sense of structure of going to the same pub every Friday night that comforted Sirius. James told loud and dirty jokes, everyone unwound after a stressful week and would try their luck at the birds for an exciting night. That is everyone with the exception of those in relationships and Sirius, who still garnered quite a bit of female attention much to the displeasure of the other blokes in attendance.

"I'm telling you, they're down now but wait till their next match. They'll be back in!"

A conversation on football had been started due to the report of various scores on the pub tele. Sirius didn't pay much attention to the light-hearted argument. There was a certain nagging in the back of his head that just wouldn't go away. Sirius stared at his lager, lost in thought until the news report brought him out of it.

"And it seems to be a slew of wins for the Conservative Party. After festive rallies have taken place all over the country, the party leader Douglas Avery has organised an official celebration for the recent gain in Parliament majority. The celebration is invitation only but Avery insists it will focus on the idea of family, much like the Tory campaign. In addition, Avery's wife has also been organising her own small rallies for the women of the-"

"All right lads, that's enough news for one night." James stated, despite the groans of some of the pub visitors, as he stood on a stool to change the channel. A man in the back called James a socialist, causing laughter throughout the pub. Ignoring the claim, James walked back to the table the CID officers normally took and gave Sirius a reassuring pat on the back. It didn't calm Sirius down, but he did notice that he was clutching his lager much tighter than he needed to. The nagging in Sirius' mind turned from a whisper to a shout as he stated he wasn't feeling well, mumbled his apologies, put some money on the table for his drink and made his way out.

* * *

It hadn't taken Sirius too long to get into Lorca this time. He arrived a lot earlier than his first visit with James and managed to beat out the crowd that came with pub closing.

Like before, he dropped off his jacket at the coat check and walked on forward. The same scent of cologne, sweat and roses permeated the air. Lack of confidence started to rose up from his bones, making him want to walk back out the door. There hadn't been much thought in his coming here. When he walked out of the pub, he let his feet wander and some instinct led him here. But apparently his instinct hadn't thought as far as actually getting into the club.

Taking a quick look around the under-populated dance floor, Sirius felt his stomach drop. He felt the same melancholy tinged pull from the swaying of bodies but he was too nervous to just walk up to a stranger and start rubbing up against them. So, he headed straight for the bar.

After getting his drink of 'anything with a lot of alcohol' Sirius took a longer look around the dance floor and noticed the platforms had been moved so they stood closer together in a sort of half circle. Tonight, the dancers were wearing hats and ties. Suddenly, one of the dancers quickly took off his hat to twirl causing Sirius to choke on his drink.

It was Remus.

Sirius quickly coughed through his choking fit so he could gulp down his drink and order another. As the alcohol slowly seeped into his brain, the goal of the night became clearer. All Sirius wanted to do was get close to Remus. To touch him. As the night continued, Sirius ordered more alcohol and watched Remus, wondering what to do. The yearning grew with Remus' every twist, bend and thrust.

Weighing his options, Sirius thought back to his first night at Lorca when the blonde man had been pulled onto the platforms. That would be an ideal situation for Sirius at this moment but he wasn't sure how one went about trying to get pulled up for some dirty dancing with go-go boys. It _had_ happened that night, and each time the go-go boys would get something (he assumed money) shoved down what could be roughly trousers. Perhaps he could try writing his number on a slip of paper and shove it down with the money but wasn't there a rule against the dancers getting to know the clubbers?

It still went back to the problem of how to get invited onto the platform anyway. He had a feeling that going over and just staring wouldn't work so that was ruled out rather quickly.

"Hey, mate." The bartender tapped Sirius' shoulder and the dark haired man looked over. He looked threatening and Sirius felt a little nervous.

"Yes?"

"Don't get any idea about the dancers. I've been watching you. It ain't a brothel and we don't like it when people make it harder for the boys out there." He told Sirius with menace in his voice and Sirius nodded earnestly hoping the bartender would think he had no such ideas of defiling (or being defiled by) a certain dancer. The absurd reality of what he was actually attempting hit his gut and he felt a little ill. He put down his sixth empty glass and decided the best thing option was to get out, with his tail between his legs.

He started to make his way slowly to the exit through the now overcrowded club but a strong arm wrapped around Sirius' waist.

"Not leaving already?" An inviting voice asked into his ear. Sirius turned to look into mischievous, lust filled eyes. The man had most of his body pressed into Sirius' front and it felt good.

"Name's Ed, care to dance?"

Well, James _did_ mention something about meeting new people.


	7. Chapter 6

**A/N**: So bloody sorry this took so long. I just moved into a new flat and it took ages to get the interwebz set up. Add to that the fact that this year is much busier work load wise than last (I'm at uni). As a warning, I may not be able to update as frequently as I did in the summer but I'll try my best!

* * *

"The hearings of Rabastan Lestrange are confirmed to take place within the next month but authorities are refusing to give the media a set date. While an official statement has yet to be made, it's been rumoured that the rich bachelor will plead guilty but the reason for his robbery is still unknown. He is currently released on bail and under the supervision of his brother, Rodolphus Lestrange, who has refused to comment on the situation.

"The press has often linked Rabastan to prostitutes and drug abuse but no substantial evidence has surfaced. Police officials say they are keeping an eye out for anything that supports these claims, even after thoroughly searching his home."

"It'll takes ages before he even gets to prison." frowned a black-haired woman who was sitting across from Tom Riddle, poking at her scrambled egg whites and coquettishly twirling a strand of hair. Tom closed the newspaper he had been reading aloud from to continue eating his breakfast. Not getting an answer or the attention she desired, the woman continued.

"Besides Tom, he might not even go to the same one as Fenrir. _Also_, Fenrir has been making such a fuss in prison that Rabastan won't be able to get near him with all the security. This whole thing is going to take _ages_." the woman complained.

"My dear," the woman beamed at the use of the endearment as Tom finally looked her in the eyes and smiled deviously, "I have all the time in the world."

* * *

It was late Saturday morning when Sirius awoke to find himself in someone else's bed with an ache in his head and satisfaction sinking into his bones. He looked over to the sleeping body of Ed, if that really was his name, but no profound emotion surfaced. As it had been a while since Sirius' last one nightstand, he wasn't sure if protocol had changed. Should he stay or should he leave now while he still had a chance to avoid what could possibly be an awkward morning? If he stayed would he get more sex this morning? Was there supposed to be guilt?

Eventually, Sirius decided to do what he did when he was younger: act like nothing happened and leave as soon as possible. As he carefully slid out of the bed, he noticed his clothes scattered all round the room and set to work trying to find them. He put on them on one by one; roughly in the order he found them. Unfortunately, the most elusive item happened to be his trousers and at the rate he was going, it didn't seem likely he'd find them before Ed woke up. Suddenly, a buzzing noise was heard on the hardwood floors, startling Sirius at first before he recognised it as his mobile. When Ed started to stir, Sirius frantically crawled around, trying to find the source.

"Hello?" he answered softly, once he discovered his trousers had skidded under the sofa.

"Hey Sirius, it's Andromeda. Just wanted to make sure you still wanted to come over for dinner tonight."

"Yeah, of course." he whispered hastily while dragging his trousers up and not bothering with the fly before grabbing his leather jacket and boots.

"Why are you whispering?"

"Oh, no reason." answered Sirius normally, after he had ran out the door. Andromeda decided to ignore what she thought was odd behavior as Sirius was a Black and therefore genetically inclined to it. By the time the elevator doors opened, he had already did up his trousers and put on his boots, not really paying attention to what he was agreeing or the other occupant in the elevator who was eyeing him suspiciously. While he wasn't exactly proud about what he had done the night before, he still felt the loneliness of the past years starting to recede slightly. The mild adrenaline rush caused by sneaking out was starting to taper off but it made him feel alive. Between trying to figure out where in London he was and telling Andromeda how he liked his lamb, Sirius decided that maybe he needed to do this more often.

* * *

It was mildly surprising for Remus to be handed a pile of papers from Lily as she scurried around the flat, gathering all her painting supplies before going to the gallery for the art lessons she gave. Remus had just woken up and was nibbling toast. He felt somewhat exhausted from the night before but he knew that he would have to get used to it.

"What's this then?" he asked through a yawn.

"The final drafts for the showing! Speeches, artist statements and the like. If you have time, can you look them over for me?"

"Sure, not like I have anything else to do nowadays."

"Oh come now, go-go dancing is a very important job. Who do you expect to turn on those gays?"

"Porn?"

"It's not nearly as exciting as you," Lily assured as she snatched Remus' toast from his hand, took a bite and placed it back in his mouth, "why do you always dip your toast in the jam? Can't you just use a butter knife like a normal person?"

"I just prefer to monitor each bite and I don't see what the problem is. I don't dip it in the jar anymore. Now, I'm assuming you want me to correct all grammar mistakes."

"Yes please! Don't try to change the artist statements too much. The guy-"

"Is very egotistical and doesn't like others tampering with his 'art'? Don't worry. I've done this for you before remember? Though I don't see why all the artists you choose to show think their spelling mistakes are revolutionary to the English language. I might start charging for my services at this rate."

"Thank you, you're a darling. Now have you seen my palette knife?"

While skimming through the sheets, Remus casually pulled the palette knife out of the sink and dried it off before handing it to her.

"Do you want me to drop the revisions off after your last lesson? I'll bring along a quick dinner for us before I dash to Lorca."

"Oh that would be lovely. You already know my schedule, see you then." After giving him a kiss on the cheek, Lily said her goodbyes and additional thank yous before running out the door.

* * *

Andromeda was the first of the Black family to be quietly disowned in the past century or so. Though the main reason had been splashed over some tabloids, the Black family had chosen to ignore her elopement with a lower class store clerk and promptly taken her out of the will without much fuss. She eventually became somewhat of a myth- only talked about in hushed tones in private corners.

Stoicism was the Black family way, given that they were often in public eye. Though the paparazzi focus had shifted more to celebrity breakdowns and general WAG news as the years went by, the Blacks were still quite good at hushing up their embarrassments. When Sirius ran away at sixteen, similar measures had been taken to ensure the public didn't know the young heir of Black had in fact, been disowned. Andromeda was the first person to track down Sirius after he ran away from home out of genuine concern and not to demand him to sign a contract for silence.

Despite the less than cheerful past the two cousins shared, spending time with the Tonks family was always enjoyable. Ted had a sense of humour that always amused Sirius and the general banter the family exchanged had yet to cause him to leave without a smile.

Unfortunately, it seemed the conversation this night was laced with a few landmines. Once Sirius had entered the Tonks household, he could sense a strained atmosphere that he didn't remember encountering around them before. Jokes and teases had been more forced and smiles didn't always reach the eyes.

The cause for the night's tension came in the form of Dora, who had been pouting most of dinner and refused to string more than three words together. General chatter had been reserved mostly for the adults for that very reason but it was hard for Sirius to not attempt to address the elephant in the room in hopes that she'd say a complete sentence. Finally, after everyone had helped themselves to a second helping of Ted's famous roast lamb, Andromeda addressed the issue.

"Nymphadora Tonks, if you continue to act like this, I'm sending you to your room right now without dessert."

"But mum!" Dora's defiant pout had turned into a frown as she crossed her arms at the sheer injustice of the world.

"No but anything young lady. We have a guest and you're acting like a spoilt child. I will not allow it."

"Then let me go to the art show!"

"I told you, you are not going and that's final!"

Sirius's eyes flicked between Andromeda and Dora in nervous apprehension as their argument quickly escalated into a shouting match, ending in Dora crying that she was never allowed to do anything fun before running to her room. Ted gave Sirius a shrug and apologetic smile, as a slamming door caused Sirius to jump slightly.

"I'm so sorry you had to see that Sirius," sighed Andromeda.

"Nothing I haven't seen. Remember we came from the same family." he assured, while giving her a reassuring pat on the back.

"It didn't used to be like this though. Dora was so sweet and now she's-"

"Becoming our teenaged selves." finished Sirius, causing Andromeda to groan before putting her head in her hands.

"God, I know! Were we really that bad?" asked Andromena, causing Sirius and Ted to laugh.

"Well Dromeda, if it makes you feel better, I'm sure she would be worse if you hadn't married me. Diluting the blood and all. Still, looks like your mother's curse came true somewhat. But you know what, I wouldn't have done anything different. Even if our little Dora is becoming the demon child from hell." Ted said and put a hand on Andromeda's shoulder. They shared a tender look before Sirius decided to steer the conversation away from the inevitable topic of the horrible tricks that he and Andromeda played on their family to garner such karma.

"So what's this art show that she wants to go to?"

"Oh, well she has a private art tutor who invited her to go to this art exhibition at the gallery she helps her parents run. It's one thing for Dora to spend time with Lily and Remus but I don't want her alone with all those older strangers. She's so impressionable and we love Lily really but we want to be careful. Besides it's on a school night and we're both busy. Maybe if one of us could go and she could stay for an hour or so but-"

"Wait? Lily as in Lily Evans?" How many Lily Evans could there be in the art world that happens to know a Remus?

"Yes actually. Do you know her?"

"Her uncle is my boss. Chief Superintendent Jonathan Evans."

"Oh, well it's a small world after all." Ted chuckled, "She's quite the…personality isn't she though?"

"Ah, well I haven't formally met her. My mate, James, is interested in her though."

"Well, good luck to him, he'll need it. Though to be honest, I think Dora wants to go because Remus will be there."

"Remus?" Sirius asked more out of confusion at Dora's interest in the man rather than trying to appear not to know who he was.

"Yeah, Lily's best friend. He sometimes stops by the gallery during Dora's lessons. But don't mention him around Dora. Once she starts talking about him, she won't stop." Ted joked but he had an edge of seriousness.

"Really?"

"Yeah, it's always 'Remus this' or 'Remus that' with her nowadays. Good thing the bloke's gay or I'd half a mind to drag out my old hunting rifle."

"Oh please don't go on about that," interjected Andromeda, "you already scared that sweet little red head she's friends with. Poor boy won't come round anymore. Besides that old thing doesn't even work. I wish you'd get rid of it."

"Serves its purpose, doesn't it?"

"Point is," Andromeda said, steering the conversation back on track, "we don't want Dora there without proper supervision. Who knows what some of those art types are like and I can't expect Lily to keep an eye on her all evening."

"How about I take her?" Sirius said suddenly. His suggestion garnered surprised looks from Ted and Andromeda, as well as himself.

"No, we couldn't ask you to do that."

"It's not a problem. I'd just be sat in watching tele unless they call me in- which I doubt by the way so don't worry about that. Even if they did, I'd drop Dora off here."

"Really Sirius? You'd do that for us and Dora?"

"Sure, she obviously wants to go. I might even be able to put in a good word for James. Win, win situation really."

"Thank you Sirius, really. You don't know how much we appreciate this."

"Should we go up and tell Dora before she causes any damage up there?"

Sirius and Ted followed Andromeda up the flight of stairs to a door covered in posters and magazine cut outs. Looking at the various moody, angst filled musicians (well he assumed that's what they were), Sirius felt a little old and out of date. Andromeda knocked on Dora's door before opening it while Ted made a quick comment to Sirius about the door decor.

"Oh I got to go Chaz. Yeah, talk to you later." Dora quickly said before closing her mobile.

"Be careful, I don't want a repeat of last month's bill." Andromeda warned, causing Dora to pout once again. "Oh don't start that now. We have some good news."

"What?"

"Your father and I have decided to let you go to the art exhibition-" Dora squealed in delight and started to thank her mother, "but on the condition that Sirius is there."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you mum!" Dora exclaimed, rushing off her bed to hug her mother.

"It's Sirius you should be thanking. It was his idea."

"Thanks Sirius! You're the best! Wait till I tell Chaz!" Dora said before hugging Sirius and twirling. Sirius chuckled; it appeared the night would be a lot better than he anticipated.


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Yeeahhh...sorry about the wait. Can't say I didn't warn ya! Blame my new social life. Hope this makes up for the wait! As always, your comments/faves/alert request make me fuzzy warm on the inside, even if I am shit at replying.

* * *

While Sirius had told Andromeda that his motif for going to the exhibition was to put a good word in for James, he had yet to tell James about the actual event. Some of the reasoning behind this was for James' own good. The man meant well but he often became overzealous around the women he fancied- often to the point of intimidation or humiliation. This resulted in most of James' serious relationships occurring with women he hadn't been head over heels for.

Since James would have insisted he join Sirius, this was all in James' best interest. It was in no way because Sirius was selfish and wanted to finally get a chance to talk to Remus Lupin instead of babysitting James all night…

During the car ride, Sirius attempted to keep his eyes on the road but was constantly distracted by the non-stop buzzing of Dora's mobile, which was often followed by giggling. After about the tenth buzz, Sirius finally voiced his question.

"Who do you keep sending messages to?" Sirius asked, eyes taking a suspicious peek towards Dora's mobile before darting back to the road. The thought of why an eleven year old needed a mobile crossed his mind but as soon as he thought it, he felt extremely old. It seemed Dora had that effect on him.

"Oh just a friend."

"Does you're friend have a name?"

"God, you're just like my parents."

"Just making conversation."

"It's just Chaz. He's a mate at school." she shrugged.

"Chaz? A boy? So you _do_ know people your own age. Is he your boyfriend?"

"What? _Charlie Weasley_? No way!"

"All right just wondering. What's wrong with him?" Sirius asked, amused at how worked up Dora had gotten.

"It's just he's _Charlie_. He's my best mate. I couldn't date him."

"Wait, was he the one you were talking to that night I came over for dinner?"

"Yeah, so?"

"Well you two certainly talk a lot."

"Don't you get started. Ugh, you're just like mum and dad. They're always going on about how Chaz has this huge crush on me just because he talks to me. We're just friends."

"Hey, most blokes won't talk to a girl unless he has an ulterior motive."

"I'm assuming you never talk to women unless you have to then."

"Oi, don't be so cheeky. I'm trying to give you advice here. From what I've observed, most blokes won't give you much time unless they think you're cute. I think you'll find Chaz probably is head over heels for you."

"I thought boys were mean to you if they liked you."

"Well, that too."

"Boys are weird."

"Yeah...we kind of are."

They lapsed into another silence, though this one felt slightly less awkward. Sirius was starting to feel a little more comfortable about the situation. Things had been so much easier when Dora was a little girl. She hadn't been full of anger and attitude then and a piece of candy could easily make her smile. Sirius never really understood girls growing up, especially teenage girls. Though he had never taken much interest in trying to talk to them, much less figure out what made them tick. One pub Friday, Peter had mentioned women were like moody blokes who just didn't say what they were really thinking and had an affinity for shoes. Given that the man spent the most time gossiping with the birds at work, Sirius took his word for it. Still, the description didn't make them any less confusing.

Soon, another buzz could be heard. Sighing, Sirius took the final turn and started to search for a parking spot.

* * *

"This is so much better than I expected." Lily gushed. She was grabbing Remus' arm with one hand and held a champagne glass in another. The show had been open for only half an hour and she'd already received a couple of offers on the art pieces. Currently, Remus had decided to keep an eye on Lily's alcohol intake, just to make sure she could keep track of all the requests as the night wore on.

"Well, you have quite the eye for art. I have to admit, while Baptist is a bit of a pretentious git, he knows how to work with oils." Remus observed while taking a closer look at a rather large painting nearby and remembering the brief encounter with the artist. One encounter was enough for him to last the night and he found himself quite relieved that the artist preferred to schmoose with the large breasted women in attendance.

"Yes but you helped. A lot." smiled Lily, wrapping an arm around Remus' waist so she could bury her face in his chest.

"Uh oh, it looks like someone spilled wine over Casey Murdoch." muttered Remus, during a quick sweep of the room. Murdoch was an important art critic that had large influence in the London art world. If he wasn't happy, it would eventually cause a drop in attendance in Lily's future showings. Unfortunately, the man was short tempered, self-entitled and had a rather odd crush on Remus. This meant that when something seemed a little off, it was Remus' job to calm him down.

"Oh god, I wish I didn't have to invite him." whined Lily, her voice muffled by Remus' shirt.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it." he assured.

"Thank you."

As soon as Remus made his way over to the moving figure of Casey Murdoch, Sirius and Dora entered the room. Dora led Sirius straight over to Lily the moment her eyes found the red-haired woman.

"Hey Dora! I'm so glad you could make it! Who's this?" Lily asked with interest. She was looking Sirius up and down with a hungry glint in her eye that he didn't trust.

"This is my cousin Sirius. Though I'm not sure he'll talk to you. He doesn't like to talk to girls because he'd rather snog boys." Dora said, causing Sirius' head to snap down towards her smug expression. When did his cute little niece get so cheeky?

"Oh," frowned Lily, "yeah I know quite a few men like that. Nice to meet you Sirius." As Sirius and Lily shook hands and exchanged pleasantries, Dora wandered off. When Sirius realised she had disappeared, he started to worry.

"She's probably just in search of Remus. He's my friend and Dora has a bit of a crush on him. Don't worry though, he's gay and won't lay a stray finger on her. No one else will bother her if that's what worries you." assured Lily, noticing his concern.

"I promised her parents I'd keep an eye on her."

"Like I said, don't worry. Remus will probably enjoy the distraction. Between you and me, he's doing a bit of damage control with a rather difficult client. Now tell me, what do you do when you're not babysitting?"

"Oh, I'm a Detective Sergeant for CID."

"Really? My uncle is the CID Chief Superintendent! Do you know him? Jonathon Evans?" Lily asked, interest back on her face. A waiter walked by carrying a try of champagne and Lily exchanged her empty glass for another while also grabbing one for Sirius.

"Actually yes. He's the one giving the orders at HQ."

"Then I should stop by and say hello. You know I used to go over and have lunch with Uncle Jon all the time but I stopped. There was this guy who spilled water down my trousers and made me slip and sprain my wrist. Then he insulted my boyfriend, well ex now. Strange man with crazy black hair and glasses. What an arse, right?" Her description of the 'strange' man caused Sirius to snort into his glass as he took a sip. That sounded eerily like James. Before Lily could ask why Sirius was coughing up champagne, another woman walked up and started to ask Lily about prices. Deciding this was an opportune moment to disappear and think about the best way to tell James that he had absolutely no chance, Sirius snuck away to another corner of the gallery.

Although the actual exhibition was mostly taking place in one large room of the art gallery, semi-permanent white walls had been erected to hold some of the framed canvases. The walls formed a small labyrinth and had plenty of corners to hide in. Sirius picked an unpopular corner and made his way towards it, stopping occasionally to look at paintings that caught his eye. In his opinion, the paintings could have been better. Most of it verged into modern art, which really never enticed Sirius. Though he had to admit, the colour choices were generally spot on.

For a few moments, Sirius stared at the last painting in the furthest corner. It consisted mostly of fiery bubble looking…things. Nonetheless, it was mesmerizing though he could have sworn he had made something similar with crayons on his nursery room wall. The sign next to the rather large canvas called it 'London- Midday'.

He turned his head to the side, wondering if that would help him see the city he had lived so many years in.

"I admit it's not one of my favourites. Though it has got an offer." a voice stated behind Sirius, causing him to turn around in surprise and find himself face to face with Remus Lupin. All the witty comments and pick up lines Sirius had created over the past month from the moment he first met Remus flew out of his brain. He could fell himself swallow nervously, trying to remember how to talk properly. Thankfully, Remus took it as the affects of being startled as opposed to the general inability to interact with humans.

God, he was turning into James.

"I hope you don't mind I join you're little corner. I'm actually trying to avoid someone." Remus explained, looking around self-consciously. With a vague arm movement, Sirius mumbled that Remus was welcome. The two men stood in slightly uncomfortable silence. Sirius took a few side-glances at Remus as the other man took in the painting. The close proximity to Remus made Sirius think back to that night they kissed. This time, Remus smelled less of sweat and an assortment of colognes and more like fresh linen and peppermint patties. It was an odd combination but it made Sirius want to lean in for a better sniff. The other man was also wearing a nice, snug suit that hugged his best features, causing Sirius' throat to dry.

"It's uh…rather red." Sirius said suddenly before inwardly cursing all the time he spent with James. A smile tugged at the corner of Remus' mouth as he shot Sirius an amused look.

"Um, yes I suppose it is. It also has some blue. Interesting combination yes? I think Baptist was trying to capture the chaos London life but also the comfort that can come with it."

"Oh- uh, yes. The bubble… thingies are a nice touch." floundered Sirius.

"You don't really go to many art galleries do you?" Remus asked gently with a smile.

"Was it that obvious? I'm just here to keep an eye on my niece," Sirius blushed and took a look around them, realizing they were still the only two in that particular corner, "and I'm doing an absolute shite job of it."

"Are you Dora's uncle? I knew you looked familiar. Thought for a second you may have been an old boyfriend." Remus said, causing Sirius to laugh obligingly to what was obviously supposed to be a joke.

"Ha-ha, I wish!" Sirius barked, mentally slapping himself when he saw Remus' eyes grow in surprise. Taking a rather large gulp of the champagne, Sirius focused his attention once again on the painting of London at midday. He could feel Remus studying him but he refused to meet the man's eyes. It seemed a cruel fate but he and James were destined to be alone. No wonder he hadn't gotten a promotion yet. If this was how he acted under pressure then perhaps it was best to keep him away from under cover work.

"I'm Remus Lupin, you're Sirius right? Dora was telling me about you earlier."

Sirius turned to Remus to find the man was offering a hand for a friendly handshake, which Sirius took. Their hands lingered a little longer than was necessary and Sirius could feel his breath quicken. Remus started to lean in closer to Sirius, about to whisper something in his ear when a booming voice sent them jumping away from one another.

"There you are Remus! I was wondering where you'd gone off to."

A look that encompassed fear, disgust and obligation crossed Remus' face before he turned away from Sirius to look at the newcomer to their little corner.

"Oh hello Casey. Sorry about wandering off like that."

"Quite all right, Marilyn interrupted me before I could ask you something important."

"Really? Planning on buying something tonight?"

"Well, not a painting. I was thinking something more along the lines of a dinner. Perhaps we could find a more private place to talk about it?" Casey asked, pulling Remus away from Sirius. A bought of jealously replaced the mad beating of Sirius' heart as he started to work out that this may have been the 'difficult client' Lily had mentioned. The more Remus scooted away from Casey, the more Casey leaned in. Remus was trying to kindly free his arm from Casey's grip but there was a sense of sad resignation in his face. Before Sirius knew what he was doing, he wound an arm around Remus' waist.

"Business talk I suppose," Sirius broke in, causing Casey to look at him properly for the first time. "Well _sweetheart_, I'll be down by the nude portraits when you two are done."

Both Casey and Remus looked at Sirius in shock, but luckily, Remus realised what Sirius was trying to do.

"Of course dear." smiled Remus, a silent thank you in his eyes as he gave Sirius a quick peck on the cheek. Sirius reluctantly slid his arm away from Remus' waist and walked towards the mentioned portraits.

Maybe it wasn't James rubbing off on him but early signs of the genetic Black insanity he inherited.

* * *

"I can't believe we have to go already." Dora complained as Sirius took her arm and led her towards the exit.

"Your parents said they wanted you back by 10. You're young, there will be plenty of art shows to attend." promised Sirius, who was also somewhat disappointed in having to leave. He hadn't seen Remus since trying to help him avoid further interaction with that Casey bloke. A pessimistic voice inside of his head whispered it was because Remus was avoiding him now.

As they reached the exit, someone called Sirius' name.

"Before you leave, I just wanted to thank you. For pretending to be my boyfriend that is. It helped." Remus smiled shyly.

"Oh it was nothing. I could tell you were uncomfortable. I hope I didn't make you more so."

"No. Um, I feel like I should buy you lunch, or an early dinner as a thank you."

"It wasn't anything-"

"I insist. It's the least I could do. Really, you don't know how relieved I am at the prospect of not having to date Casey and not offending him at the same time. Is next week all right? I'm afraid I can't do a late dinner with my work schedule."

"Well, if you insist. Nothing too fancy though. Here, I'll give you my mobile number." Even though Sirius tried to appear impassive on the outside, he was soaring on the inside. As Remus programmed his number into his mobile, Sirius saw Dora's shocked expression from the corner of his eye. Soon, Remus was bidding them goodnight as Sirius led a sputtering Dora out of the door.

"What just happened?" Dora asked once they were a good enough distance from the gallery.

"Um…well-"

"Oh my god! You've got a date with Remus? What was that about being his boyfriend? I hate you!" shouted Dora. She refused to move when Sirius tried to steer her towards the car.

"I'm never talking to you again!" she stated before walking straight to the car and refused to look him in the eye.

"Hey, I don't see what you're upset about. Not like you ever had a chance anyway. Not even a real date anyway." mumbled Sirius as he unlocked the doors. Dora gave him a withering look but it only made him chuckle to himself.

"You are so not cool anymore."

"I thought you weren't talking to me." Sirius shot back, causing Dora to just growl before shutting the door with a slam that shook the whole car. Deciding there was no point in trying to understand any female, Sirius just laughed to himself before getting in himself to start the engine. When they got back onto the main road, Dora was still sitting cross-armed and starting moodily out the window. Realising risk taking was working out quite well tonight, Sirius reasoned with Dora.

"If I buy you an ice cream, will you stop being upset with me?"

Dora looked at him with raised eyebrows, clearly unimpressed.

"You can tell Chaz how much of a jerk I am while I obsess over what to wear next week." Sirius continued and felt successful when a tiny smile broke out on Dora's face before she tried to turn it back into an angry scowl.

"Well I wouldn't wear that outfit. It looks horrid on you."


	9. Chapter 8

**A/N**: FINALLY another chapter. I ran into a bit of a writers block for DITD but hopefully it's over. The next chapter is all ready written up and on it's way soon!

**A/N2**: So as you will read, the character Luiz is Brazilian and therefore has a bit of a Brazilian-Portuguese accent. I tried to show it a little in the writing but wasn't sure how to write a few of the accent quirks so just...read his lines with the accent in mind. Or if you are better at transcribing accents and can give me advice, that'd be lovely :)

* * *

"Someone's looking fancy for pub night." Peter placed a file Sirius requested on the desk and watched as Sirius shifted uncomfortably. Due to the numerous case files Sirius needed to work through by the end of the day, he wouldn't have time to go back to his flat and change for his dinner with Remus. He had hoped no one would notice the way this classier suit hugged his arse and waist but the appreciative glances from some of the female inspectors told him otherwise.

"I probably won't be at the pub tonight. After I get finish up here I'm meeting someone for dinner."

"Going on a date?" Peter inquired and Sirius paused for slightly before answering, considering whether or not he should water the CID gossip grapevine.

"Not- I'm not sure."

"Not sure? How can you not be sure?"

"I did him a little favour and he asked me out to dinner to say thanks," shrugged Sirius. In search of a distraction, he started to flip through the new file.

"A dinner is quite the way to say thanks for a 'little' favour. Looking at the way you're dressed, I'd call it a date. What kind of favour was it?" Peter started to lean on Sirius' desk, causing Sirius to glace up before looking back down at the file. Unfortunately, Peter didn't catch the hint to either change the topic or go away. Or maybe he simply didn't care.

"Just helped keep someone out of his hair. It's not a date."

"Waved your badge around or something and he felt the need to thank you?"

"_No_. I just...pretended to be his boyfriend."

"So you pretended to be his boyfriend and now you're going out to dinner with him." Peter worked out. There was an insinuation in his voice that Sirius couldn't really name but he didn't like nonetheless. As much fun as Peter could be, the man could also really grate Sirius' nerves when Sirius wasn't in the mood to ask all the questions Peter expected to be asked as he edged closer to what he actually meant.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing. Just saying, it sounds like a date."

"Well it's not."

"You weren't so sure a moment ago."

"Now I am."

"I still think it's a date. Not that I know much about gay dating habits. You're an okay looking bloke yeah? I mean-I bet this is a sneaky way to get you on a date. Is there a reason why he'd have to coerce you into a date? He not a looker?" Peter reasoned out loud and Sirius thought there may have been a compliment hidden there.

"You know, with the questions you're asking, I'm surprised you're not working more in the field."

"All right, I'll go before you get any more hostile. Don't forget a condom tonight." Teased Peter, chuckling as he dodged a crumpled piece of paper Sirius threw at him. Sirius continued to work on his case files but within a couple of hours, a version of his conversation with Peter had all ready circulated around HQ. By the time he had started eating lunch, a number of people had already stopped by to ask about his 'date'.

"Oi, what's this about you having a boyfriend?" James asked, sitting on the edge of Sirius' desk with crossed arms and a frown. There was slight betrayal in his voice.

"I don't have a boyfriend."

"But Frank just told me-"

"Frank probably heard a false retelling of a conversation I had with Peter. I'm just meeting someone for dinner after work."

"So you _aren't_ telling me something. Frank also told me you had a date tonight," concluded James.

"It's not a date. Just a thank you for a favour."

"What favour? For who? I feel as if I don't know you anymore," James melodramatically stated, placing the back of his hand on his forehead while sighing. "You certainly don't wear things like that for me anymore."

"I helped a guy avoid unwanted attention. Just someone I met at an art exhibition." Sirius said lightly. He never actually _mentioned_ the art show to James after going to it. Best not to get James' hopes up to just tell him how much Lily disliked him.

"Art show? You're dating some artsy-fartsy bloke?"

"I took my little cousin, to it. You remember Dora, yeah? Her art tutor was holding it and her parents didn't want her to go unless she had a chaperone. I met him there and helped him avoid some crazy bloke."

"So you chaperoned your little cousin and got a date out of it? Why wasn't I told about this art show? I'd have gone. Sounds like a fun night out."

"I didn't think her invitation extended to men she isn't technically related to. Though she's a little sore at me. She fancies the guy and thinks I stole him from her."

"Ah, the volatility of young love. What's his name?"

"Remus."

"Hmm, sounds exotic. Then again your name's Sirius so I suppose the two of you should get along. Sirius and Remus— has a nice ring to it. I expect all details of how the date goes. Though I shouldn't have to tell you that."

"It's not a date," insisted Sirius.

"Well whatever it is, I hope all goes well. You need a decent bloke in your life." James confessed sincerely, reaching over to squeeze Sirius' shoulder. The gesture surprised Sirius at first but it was welcomed all the same. The two friends smiled at each other until James smirked. "Well, I mean you need a good bloke that doesn't mind taking it u-"

"_Okay_ James. Thanks for the ruined sentiment." Sirius tried to sound disapproving but couldn't help the laugh escaping his throat. At that moment, Kingsley walked by.

"Hey Sirius, congratulations. I hear you're engaged! Why haven't you ever mentioned the lucky bloke?"

* * *

In Sirius' opinion, the date was already off to a bad start. First, he was a late from trying to find a parking spot anywhere _near_ the restaurant Remus had suggested. Then, when he walked into the Japanese hole-in-the-wall (which was also bloody hard to find and he'd walked past it twice), his scowl morphed into panic the moment he saw Remus sitting at a table in only a t-shirt and jeans. Sirius managed a constipated smile as Remus looked up and waved him over.

"Wow, I feel like I should have dressed a little more formal." Remus admitted with an apologetic frown when Sirius took the seat across from him.

"No, I just, uh- had to wear it for work. One of the higher ups came in to see how things were going." Sirius lied but Remus shook his head.

"I'm sorry. It's my fault. I agreed to help Lily move some large paintings today and it went a little longer than we thought. I didn't think to bring anything but my eh- work clothes. I should have brought something nicer as well."

"It's nothing to fret about. Not like this is a date or anything!" Sirius laughed, hoping his hollow chuckle would hide the painful feeling of rejection coiling in his chest and tightening his throat. With a tight smile and something in his eyes that Sirius couldn't identify, Remus agreed half-heartedly before looking down at the menu.

Feeling like an utter twat, Sirius followed Remus and paid attention to his own menu. Sirius' eyes appeared to be skimming the menu but really, he was silently berating himself. If there had been a chance with Remus, it was gone. Remus must have regretted asking a creepy overly eager man with a horrible case of verbal diarrhoea out to dinner. The silent castigation was disrupted by a question from Remus.

"What, I'm sorry?"

"I asked if you had an idea of what you wanted to eat."

"Oh- um, I'm not really sure...I haven't had Japanese in a while."

"Yeah I know it may seem to be an odd choice for a first- I mean a quick dinner." Remus admitted, a small blush adorning his cheeks. It tugged at Sirius' heartstrings.

"No it's nice. I like Japanese." Sirius eagerly reassured. Coughing nervously, Sirius went back to his menu for a moment before attempting a nonchalant attitude.

"So do you come here often?"

"I used to. This is the first time I've been here in a long while. I came here all the time when I was in the academy."

"Academy?"

"Durmstrang Academy for Dance. It's in the area. Lily had a friend at Beauxbatuns, the art school, who knew about this place. Lily was talking to the her recently and I don't know, just reminded me of this place."

"Dance Academy? So you're a dancer?" Sirius asked, deciding to not add 'stalker' to Remus' observations about him and played dumb about the Lorca dancing.

"Um..." Remus blushed even deeper than before and Sirius had to stop himself from sighing like a girl. "I'm a dancer at a place called Lorca. It's a...sort of club. A dance club I mean! Not a gentlemen's club. I'm not a prostitute or anything!"

"No that's fine. Fine that you're a dancer...not that you're not a prostitute. I mean that would be fine too if you were a prostitute! I wouldn't mind- but it's all right that you're not."

They stared at each other for a moment in silent shock at the sudden turn of the conversation, both turning a deep red for different reasons. Turning his head away and biting his knuckle, Sirius mentally beat himself up for the third time that day.

This was going to be a long dinner.

* * *

As usual, loud voices greeted Remus the moment he walked into the changing room in the back of Lorca.

"Filho da puta! Get dat camera out of my face before I shove it down your troat!"

"Come on Luiz. My subscribers have taken a liking to you. Just one hello to YouTube? "

"Tell YouTube it can suck my dick."

"Well, that's not very nice."

"Leave him be Nate. He's just upset about what Mark told him."

"Oh Remus! Why don't you say hello to YouTube?" Nate, the youngest and by far most exuberant of all the Lorca dancers asked warmly when he saw Remus enter. Recently, Nate's boyfriend had given him a video camera as a birthday present and the young man always had it whenever he was off hours. It made Remus slightly uncomfortable but he knew Nate didn't mean any harm and so Remus never made a fuss.

"Hi YouTube," Remus smiled into the lens before walking to his locker. He noticed another one of the dancers had his things out but was nowhere to be seen at the moment. "Hey Derek, Luiz."

Luiz was sitting shirtless, face down on a table. He mumbled something to acknowledge Remus' presence. In confusion towards the man's change of normally flirty behaviour, Remus looked at Derek with a raised eyebrow.

"Mark had a talk with Luiz about whoring himself out in the club."

"I am not a whore! If a guy is willing to pay me to suck him off, so what?" Luiz defended angrily.

"Well you shouldn't do it in Lorca's toilet then should you?" Reasoned Derek. He was getting annoyed with Luiz quite quickly today. Although they normally got along well, he never did approve of the Brazilian's loose cares on selling his body.

"It was my break."

"So? You're lucky you only got off with a warning."

"Hey, get to talking about something I can actually put in my vlog." Nate interrupted light-heartedly.

"YouTube can-"

"We know how you feel about YouTube." Derek cut in before going back to Remus. "How was your date?"

"A date?" Nate asked, perking up.

"Horrible," moaned Remus, slumping into a chair and burying his head in hands.

"What happened?" Derek asked, squeezing Remus' shoulder with a comforting hand.

"He didn't even think it was a date! It's my fault. I was so bloody ambiguous about it. I didn't even dress well and I had to defend myself after I accidently hinted I was a prostitute. I'm _hopeless_."

"It's nothing to beat yourself up about. You haven't dated in a while. You're a little out of practice."

"Yeah, Derek's right. You know when Heath and I met, it was a disaster," Nate supplied, turning off his camera. "He called me ugly and threw mud down my shirt. The teasing didn't stop then though. Lasted years. But look at us now! Been happily together four years and counting."

"That sounds a bit like Stockholm Syndrome. Where did that happen?" asked Derek, mild horror scrawled across his and Remus' face.

"Primary school."

"Nate, you're wonderfully helpful." Luiz mumbled sarcastically, head still lying on the table.

"No one asked your opinion Luiz. Now Remus, it couldn't have been that bad. You two didn't have _any_ fun?" persisted Derek.

"Well it got better. I mean, we were having a relatively good time. I took him to Cherry Blossom, you know that Japanese place we used to go to. Thought I could impress him somewhat with my limited knowledge of Japanese food."

"Did it work?"

"Sort of. But it doesn't really matter. He didn't even think it was a date!"

"Now don't assume that. What matters is if the two of you had a good time in the end. You're blowing it all out of proportion. Dance it out tonight and have a fresh view tomorrow." reasoned Nate, hugging Remus with one arm before he headed to the the small shower that was used as a room to cover themselves with glitter and other body paints depending on the dancing themes. Remus sat still for a few moments before continuing.

"I just don't know what to do. I'm afraid of making things worse. He's the first nice guy I've met who's showed interest in a long time. Well I _thought_ it was interest."

"Just call him up again." Luiz suggested, getting up from the table to finish dressing down before it was his turn in the 'glitter room'. "You like him so tell him plainly you want to go on a real date. What's the worst that can happen?"

"As much as I'd hate to agree with Luiz at this particular moment. He's right. Give it a shot." Derek agreed, giving Remus a final pat on the back.

"And if that doesn't work, just blow him." Luiz joked, causing Derek to throw a balled up shirt at him.


	10. Chapter 9

**A/N**:Thanks for the comments from the last chapter! They always give me a boost. Also a special thanks to Lizzy0308 who always leaves me comments on all my stories that give me warm fuzzies tingles. :) Hope everyone likes the chapter!

* * *

"You can't start a fire  
Sitting 'round crying over a broken heart  
This gun's for hire  
Even if we're just dancing in the dark"

-Bruce Springsteen, _Dancing in the Dark_

_

* * *

_

The rambunctious men sitting around the pub table were surprised to see Sirius take a seat next to James. Wearing a dejected frown and holding a pint of lager, Sirius attempted to avoid their gazes by focusing on the alcohol before him.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't your head be in a pillow?" Caradoc Dearborn, a new dark haired detective constable, asked. His comment caused chuckles to break out at the table. James and Kingsley were the only ones frowning in concern.

"What's wrong? Date not go well?" James asked, placing a light and friendly punch on Sirius' shoulder.

"It was rubbish. Utter rubbish. _I_ was rubbish." Groaned Sirius before his forehead hit the table with a small thunk.

"It couldn't have been _that_ bad."

"I'm not sure he knew it _was_ a date. Even if he had that notion, I bollixed it up by saying it wasn't."

"I thought you _said_ it wasn't a date. What's-" Peter started but was quickly eyed down by Kingsley.

"Well, looks like I was right. Not that it matters now. Everything that flew out of my mouth was offensive or incoherent."

"He probably thought your babble was endearing." Kingsley said in such a persuasive manner that Sirius almost believed him. _Almost_.

"I told him I wouldn't mind if he was a prostitute," countered Sirius. Before Kingsley could think of a nice way to frame Sirius' verbal blunder, Peter cut in once again.

"If he didn't take that as a compliment then you're better off without him."

"He was the first decent bloke who likes blokes that I've met in ages and I make a mess of it." Sirius sighed. The other men were starting to sympathize with him now.

"He can't be _that_ great. There are plenty of fish in the sea," Frank said confidently, the other men agreeing whole-heartedly with him.

"He's attractive, cultured, nice, patient, is a dancer-"

"So you know he's bound to be fit." Caradoc added with a smirk, but Sirius continued.

"Given the men I've dated, how could I do better?"

"Who exactly _have_ you dated? Not that it's any of my business, but you've never mentioned seeing anyone besides this bloke. At least not since I've known you." Kingsley asked. It was obvious Kingsley asked the question out of genuine interest but it still made Sirius flustered. The love life he had wasn't something he liked to dwell on but most of the table seemed to lean in with equal curiosity. Sirius wasn't necessarily the luckiest nor most sensible when it came to love and lust. Sure he'd had a few disastrous affairs (some more disastrous than others) and quite a few one-night stands over the years but it hadn't really amounted to anything.

"Does it really matter?" cut in James, sensing Sirius' agitation. "Honestly Sirius, I think you're making this worse than it is. He'll probably call you in a few days. Even if he doesn't, like everyone says, there are more fish in the sea. You just need to…fish more."

Everyone at the table agreed with James and decided to order another round in hopes that more alcohol would help drown Sirius' bad mood.

* * *

Lily walked in from a few errands to find Remus sitting hunched over on the sofa. His face appeared to be in deep contemplation as he stared at the mobile lying on the table in front of him. Putting down her various art supplies and groceries, Lily decided to leave him be for a few moments in hopes that he would realise she was there and tell her what was happening. She spent five minutes putting away groceries before impatience got the best of her.

"Hey Remus, you eat yet?" she called out, breaking him out of his trance. Looking up, Remus rubbed his face and it was then that Lily noticed how haggard he looked. There were bags under his eyes and he hadn't shaven yet.

"When did you get in?"

"Just now. What's wrong? You've been out of it lately. Things okay at Lorca?"

"Yeah things are fine. Make me a bit of whatever you're having."

"Tuna salad okay?"

"Yeah thanks."

In between opening a can of tuna and slicing tomatoes, Lily continued to watch Remus as he shifted the keyboard of his mobile up and down. Somewhat intrigued at his behaviour, she took both bowls and forks over to the sofa where she sat cross-legged facing Remus.

"Expecting a call?"

"No." Remus said bluntly while taking the bowl. He was glad to have something to distract him from his mobile moping.

"Why are you looking at your mobile forlornly?"

"I'm not."

"Yes you are. You and I both know I'm going to bother you until you tell me, so spit it out."

"I'm just wondering."

"Yeah?"

"If I should call someone."

"Does this certain someone happen to be a certain someone you went on a date with?" Lily said with a small smile.

"It wasn't a date. He made that very clear."

"Do you _want_ a date with him? Dora said he's gay so that's not an issue."

"I don't even know what I would tell him if I saw him again. It's stupid. I hardly know him. I don't know why I'm getting all worked up. One person thinks I'm a twit. Shouldn't be an issue right?" Remus concluded, defeated. Frowning, Lily rubbed a comforting hand on his arms before giving him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'll just continue to live the life of a lonely, unlovable gay man," continued Remus, a little more melodramatically.

"Bit of a contradiction, given how many horny men you dance with on a nightly basis," joked Lily, causing a tiny smile to break out on Remus' sad face. Although he didn't reply, Lily was satisfied with the reaction. She shifted over so she could pull him over to lean on her as they ate in silence.

* * *

The loud green numbers of the clock said it was 3:09 AM.

And Sirius still couldn't fall asleep.

It had been over a week since the horrible non-date with Remus and when Sirius had free time, it was all he could think about. Often, a pang of pain stung his chest when he tried to work out what all the looks had meant. What was that expression Remus gave him when Sirius made a joke about not being on a date? Relief? Disappointment? Was Remus trying to impress him with all those facts about Japanese food and the how-tos of its consumption? Why _would_ he want to impress him? Did that mean he cared?

Groaning at the fact he had work in about 5 hours, Sirius rolled over onto his stomach, burying his face into the pillow. All the blokes at work who knew why Sirius looked a little worse for wear kept on about more fish in the sea. Caradoc even had a confusing and disturbing metaphor involving sushi.

But what they couldn't get through their think skulls was Sirius didn't care about other fish- or sushi for that matter. He wanted Remus. Sure there were loads of other blokes that Sirius could find for one-night stands or even form relationships with but Remus was different. Remus was interesting. Throughout his life, Sirius was luckily blessed with the ability to bounce back after most anything. He didn't every really give much thought to any of his one nightstands or the relationships.

Unless it was Remus and the furthest they went was snog and fumble in a club toilet and Remus didn't even remember it! Nonetheless, the kiss had been enticing and magnetic and intoxicating and frightening all at once. A kiss hadn't done that to him since…well for a long time at least. If it hadn't been for that kiss, Sirius was sure he wouldn't spare another glace towards Remus. If it hadn't been for that kiss, he wouldn't be drawn to Remus like prey to a bright anglerfish.

Deciding that he wasn't likely to get sleep anytime soon, Sirius stood up and turned on a lamp. Shielding his eyes until they adjusted to the change in light, he started to rummage through his clothes to look for something decent. Nothing good could come from this but de was determined to explain himself tonight. Although through lack of contact Remus had made it clear he didn't want any thing to do with Sirius, perhaps if Sirius explained his budding social inabilities he'd finally get some sleep. Or perhaps he was just a small fish being continuously drawn to an anglerfish and wouldn't be able see clearly until it was too late.

* * *

It was nearing 4 AM when Sirius finally arrived at the club. There was a lack of cars in the area but he decided to blame it on being a weekday and people preferring cabs in this area. At the sight of the closed and locked doors, his stomach sank. Frantically, he started to pound on the door but heard no signs of anyone opening the door or telling him to piss off. After a few more kicks just to vent his anger and disappointment, he turned around and started to make his way back towards his car. Just when he was about to unlock it, laughter caught his attention. Over on the other side of the parking lot were five men walking towards a small cluster of cars.

"Hey Remus, want me to give you a ride tonight?" One of them asked rather loudly. Perking up, Sirius started to run over.

"Remus!" He shouted, causing the group to quiet down and shift closer together in case the crazy man running towards them intended harm.

"Remus I need to talk to you!"

"Oi, who the bloody fuck are you?" A tall black man asked menacingly. He moved to stand in front of Remus protectively and the other men started to do the same. Although they formed an intimidating wall, their glitter-coated skin caught the dim lighting of the street lamps and made them look weirdly ethereal. They were all beautiful men and it was a little more difficult than usual for Sirius to feel complete hostility for them when all they were trying to do was protect one of their own. When Remus realised who it was though, he pushed through the barrier they had created to pull Sirius over to the side.

"Sirius? What are you doing here?" At the name, the group visibly relaxed, though they still watched the interaction with peaked interest.

"I really need to talk to you." Sirius shook his head a little to shake off his thoughts of scantily clad sparkling men to remember what his intention was.

"What?"

"About the things I said. I need to explain."

"Hey Remus, who do you want a ride with? They can wait for you two to finish," one of the dancers stated.

"I can give you a ride," Sirius said suddenly "I mean, unless you're more comfortable-"

"No, it's fine. You guys can go on ahead. I'll ride with Sirius." Remus decided, nodding to the dancers to let them know it was all right. As the other men made their ways to their cars, the dancer who originally spoke to Sirius wavered slightly.

"Don't worry Derek. I'll be fine. Goodnight." With a nod, Derek turned around and joined the others. Turning towards Sirius, Remus gave him a small shrug. "We should talk in your car. They won't leave until everyone is in a running car. Just a protective caution this late at night."

When they slid into the seats and closed the door, both men took a little time to settle in. Sirius procrastinated more by turning on the engine. Now that Remus was beside him, he started to feel the same nervousness he got the other times he had made a fool of himself. Determined to not let that happen again, Sirius took a few seconds to gather his straying thoughts that had become distracted again by the remains of glitter shining on Remus' face as they walked towards the car. Before he could form an apology, Remus cleared his throat.

"You're up late," observed Remus.

"I...couldn't sleep. I couldn't stop thinking about out dinner."

"Really? Why?" Remus asked cautiously, feeling his heartbeat quicken and his face start to heat up from the embarrassment he felt. The sight of Sirius made him a little hopeful but he still wasn't sure what to expect.

"I was a prat. I didn't mean to say the things I did. Or at least not in such a blunt and stupid way. I don't know what it is about you but when I'm around you, I get tongue-tied and verbal diarrhoea at the same time. I never meant to call you a prostitute. Hell, I regret most of what I said and even though I said it wasn't a date I did _wish_ it had been a date. Though you're probably glad it wasn't one and now you're stuck in a car with me and I'm-"

Remus cut Sirius' nervous rant off with a kiss on the lips. It was an extremely welcome surprise and although it caught Sirius off guard, it didn't take him long to find his footing again. Hands tangled themselves into Sirius' hair to bring him closer and Sirius licked Remus' bottom lip. Their kiss became a gentle tug of tongues. It wasn't as rough as that night in the toilets but Sirius still felt utterly consumed and surrounded by the other man. The soft scent of peppermint, sweat and a mixture of cologne engulfed Sirius' senses and all he could feel were the lips tangling with his own.

In an attempt to get closer, Sirius shifted forward and placed one hand on Remus' waist and the other on his elbow. The kiss ended too soon for both men even though they were gasping for air at the separation of lips.

"I like you too." Remus whispered with a small smile, breath tickling Sirius' nose. They stayed close together, noses lightly touching for a moment. A more comfortable silence had fallen around them as they let their eyes meet. Sirius was ecstatic to find a mirror image of happiness and contentment gazing back at him. Eventually, Remus started to wipe something off of Sirius' cheek.

"Sorry, I got some glitter on you."

"It's fine." Sirius assured with a small, excited bark. He took a hold of Remus' hand and was about to say something but was shaken out of the atmosphere at the sound of a loud car horn. Jumping and turning to peer out the side window, Sirius saw a car with one of the dancers in the passenger seat wearing a huge grin and putting up his thumbs.

"Just be glad he's not filming us." Remus said fondly, "Maybe we should get going. I think Derek's going to want to drop Nate off before he talks his ear off. And I think you probably have work soon."

With a nod and smile, Sirius ignored the cheers of the audience and started to drive out of the parking lot. He could still taste Remus on his lips and he was sure he wouldn't be getting any sleep before work.

But that was okay.

* * *

The study was a catacomb full of books and eclectic artifacts lining the tall bookshelves, glass cases and tables. Objects ranged from Roman glass to Victorian surgical instruments to golden Buddhas. It looked like it had been decorated using a generous amount of items from the British Museum but light from the crackling fire gave warmth to the organized cocoon.

Sitting in one of the large leather chairs was Tom Riddle. He was enjoying the warmth of the fire and a whiskey as he read a book. Across from him was a pale, lightly freckled man with straw-coloured hair sitting awkwardly on the edge of the chair. Tom seemed completely oblivious to the man and the question that had been asked. After another minute of silence, the man boldly cleared his throat. Tom looked up and smiled pleasantly, giving him silent permission to talk. When he looked at Tom expectantly, Tom took the cue to discuss a completely different topic.

"Have you ever head of the naga?" Tom asked, waiting for the man to shake his head before continuing. "They're snake creatures from Asia. Their form differs depending on the folk tales. In Thailand though, they're multi-headed snakes that are seen as holy creatures. They build golden statues of them in temples that are quite stunning. Shame isn't it? Here in the western world, snakes are so tied with sin."

"I don't know much about Asian culture sir." The pale man explained in embarrassment.

"Of course you don't. Why should you? Not a subject dwelled on too much in school here is it? Such a shame. It's something we should consider though."

"Sir, about my question?" the man asked knowing in this mood, Tom wouldn't be touching on the topic anytime soon on his own.

"Don't worry Barty. Give him a warning. No one can say I'm an unreasonable man. Though if he doesn't listen to reason then I'll sort him out. Now, take a look at this. Isn't it gorgeous? I'm considering getting the fireplace redone with those naga statues though I'm not sure how the heat will affect the gold. Perhaps I'll buy a snake instead."


	11. Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: Don't own these characters- they belong to JKR  
A/N:** FINALLY got this chapter out. As much as I love this story, it's sometimes harder to write than Sex Pistol. Anyhoo, as always hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks for all the comments so far! They are love.

* * *

"I was lost  
Until that night we kissed  
Given up on life-  
So darling know this,  
You're worth more than how this city lets you down"

-Patrick Wolf,_ The City_

* * *

As far as Sirius was concerned, life was great. It had been about a month since he and Remus had gone on their first official date. There had been no catastrophes and no more idiotic comments escaping Sirius' mouth (though to be honest, some of the things about his self he thought were a little stupid, Remus found endearing). The date had been rather simple. They'd gotten a quick bite at a kebab shop and then took a walk around a nearby park. After about a half hour of chatting and laughing, they ran into a couple of buskers and somehow Remus convinced Sirius that it was a good idea for them to waltz the Viennese Waltz. Sirius almost thanked his parents for forcing him to take ballroom dance lessons but any sarcastic vile that would normally swell violently in his gut at the thought of his family disappeared once he looked into Remus' eyes as they spun and spun.

Although Sirius would never admit to waltzing in a park to the blokes at HQ, he didn't remember when he was happier than laughing and twirling around with Remus. To be honest though, currently laying in bed with Remus and trading gentle kisses was coming close.

While they hadn't actually gotten close to shagging, Remus still spent most nights over at Sirius' after being picked up at Lorca. Most of the time they would just lie in bed till dawn just talking and spooning. It all felt so wonderful and a little surreal for Sirius. He and Remus got on so well. Even though it was early days, Sirius could tell there was something different about this budding relationship. Every time he saw Remus, such an overwhelming feeling of affection would threaten to burst through his chest. And when Remus smiled, Sirius wanted to just kiss him.

Shifting a little, Remus moved over so he could lay his head on Sirius' chest. Ever accommodating, Sirius wrapped his arms around Remus, suddenly realising the sun had started to rise. This past month with Remus had been wonderful. It was like they were in a world of their own and no one could touch them. For once in his life, truly felt happy.

Even though he told himself he didn't care there may bags under his eyes nowadays because of his skewed sleeping habits or that Caradoc cracked jokes about Sirius bottoming till dawn (he recently spat in Caradoc's coffee so they were somewhat even now). What was happening between him and Remus was real and felt more real any anything that had ever happened to Sirius. Things seemed to fall into place now that Remus was in it.

* * *

"You've got a spring in your step the last month or so. I assume you settled things with that bloke of yours." Kingsley mentioned as they walked out of a meeting with Evans. Sirius had been assigned to help Kingsley with a new project quite recently and already they were making good progress.

"Yeah actually. I'm surprised you didn't hear it from someone else. Seems every time I walk into a room everyone hushes up like they've been talking about me."

"Oh I did hear things. Just wanted to get the information from you this time. So the two of you dating now? Are we going to meet him?"

"I'm not sure- early days you kn-" Sirius started but a familiar body caught his eye. Turning around, Sirius looked over to the room's entrance and was a little shocked to find Remus standing there with a smile. He was completely oblivious to a few of the questioning glances of the male constables and approving eyes of the female (and a couple male) constables.

"Who's- wait. That's him, isn't it?" Kingsley, perceptive as ever, quickly worked out. Not bothering to answer, Sirius walked over to Remus to ask the other man what he was doing.

"Well I was in the area and thought I'd just drop in and we could go grab our dinner." Explained Remus, taking Sirius' free hand and lacing their fingers. A couple of female constables 'awed' and Sirius could feel himself start to blush.

"Besides, I haven't seen Uncle Jon in a while."

"Uncle Jon?"

"Remus!" Jonathan Evans' voice boomed joyfully before pulling Remus away from Sirius for a tight hug. More constables were now watching the scene in interest.

"Now I hope you have an excuse as to why I haven't seen you or Lily in over five months."

"Sorry, we've both been up to our own things I suppose."

"No, don't feel sorry. I hope you'll be at Davey's birthday dinner."

"Of course, I wouldn't miss it. My parents said they'll probably be there as well."

"Great! It'll be like a reunion. We'll have to catch up then, hope you don't mind. The Chief Super's job is never done."

"Don't worry, Sirius and I were about to leave soon."

"Sirius?" Evans' attention finally shifted to Sirius. The Chief Superintendent raised an eyebrow as he looked between the two skeptically.

"Yes, we're going to get a bite before I have to go to work."

"Oh- right, I see." A frown etched itself into Jon's forehead for a moment. Remus had moved towards Sirius again and from the distance between the two Evans realised this wasn't a casual 'friend' dinner. Before Sirius could try and work out what the look meant, Evans smiled and patted Remus on the shoulder. He turned around to walk back into his office but not before giving Sirius a foreboding look.

Feeling a little sick to his stomach, Sirius assured Remus he'd be outside once he cleaned up his desk. As Sirius collected his things, thoughts running fast through his mind, Kingsley appeared.

"Dating the Chief Super's nephew for a promotion? I didn't expect that from you." Kingsley said disapprovingly, only his smirk giving away the fact he wasn't serious.

"I didn't know that he was related!" Insisted Sirius. "I just thought he was sharing a flat with Lily."

"Now don't get upset. I was joking. Are you still all right?" asked Kingsley, putting a reassuring hand on Sirius' shoulder in an attempt to steady him. Sirius tried not to look Kingsley in the eye.

"I've got to go. Remus is waiting." Mumbled Sirius, before picking up the remainder of his things and leaving. The warning look that Evans had given him was still fresh in Sirius' head and was making him increasingly nervous. That is until he walked outside and Remus greeted him with a soft kiss on the lips. Sirius felt the knot in his stomach start to release and the air he was holding in leave slowly. Remus started to pull away but Sirius pulled him in again for another kiss but this time he licked Remus' bottom lip asking for entrance. Gladly, their tongues started to tease each other and Sirius could feel a pair of arms wrap around his neck. Forgetting about the files in his arms, Sirius dropped everything to wrap his own arms around Remus' waist and drag them closer together. The kiss lasted a couple of minutes, familiar tongues languidly playing with each other, breaking apart to reveal matching grins.

Realising Sirius had dropped all this things, Remus smiled sheepishly before picking up the forgotten pile.

"So..." Sirius said clearing his throat, bending down to help Remus and not caring that there were a number of people staring at them. "Where did you want to eat tonight?"

* * *

With a sigh, Lily slumped onto the dance room floor.

"Don't give up! You almost have it down." Derek encouraged. Today was the second lesson in which Derek tried to teach Lily the Single Ladies dance, as per their agreement. Normally, Derek would use tough love on Lily but he could tell she hadn't been feeling too well and decided to go easy on her. Besides, she did really well in fooling his father as well as charming his family.

He took a seat next to her when he realized she wasn't going to stand up.

"All right, what's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just tired." Insisted Lily but Derek was not deterred.

"You've been upset for the past 20 minutes. I may not be Remus but I can still tell when you're upset." Derek said, noticing Lily slouching at the mention of Remus. "So it's Remus?"

"Have you noticed him acting a little differently lately?" Lily turned to Derek.

"He does have a boyfriend now so I suppose if you consider his consistent happiness different then yeah."

"It's just-" Lily struggled to pinpoint what exactly was bothering her about Remus's new situation when everything suddenly clicked into place for Derek.

"You're jealous aren't you?"

"What?"

"You heard me."

"That's not true. I'm happy that Remus found someone who seems to care about him."

"No you're not jealous that Remus has a boyfriend, you're jealous that he's not dating _you_." Derek bluntly stated and Lily was at a loss of words. There was a mix of anger and hurt on her face. While Derek half expected her to storm out, she stayed sitting on the floor, staring straightforward. It took a little moment for Derek to notice tears were starting to fall down her cheeks. He was suddenly reminded of university when he had a similar talk with Lily.

"I love him Derek." Admitted Lily, letting Derek wipe away some of her tears.

"Lily, I thought you were over this."

"I thought I was. But it was just because I found Severus. He was a distraction. I mean I loved him too but…Remus is my other half. He knows everything about me and I know everything about him."

"He's _gay_ Lily. You have to understand that. You two may be perfect for each other but he will never love you in the way you want- the way you deserve." Derek said, holding Lily's face in his hands and looking into her eyes. She tried to avoid his gaze but he wouldn't let her.

"It's not fair. We hardly talk now. My uncle called me before I arrived here to ask me about his new boyfriend. What I knew about their relationship. And you know what? I couldn't tell him anything because I hardly know what's going on between them. My _uncle_ knows more about Remus' boyfriend than I do. I know I'm never going to be with Remus but at least before I was an important part of his life. I'm nothing now."

"Stop doing this to yourself. You won't be happy if you keep dwelling on this. You need to move on. Let him move on too. Seeing Sirius is good for Remus. He's never been happier. And if you love him, that should be enough for you."

Throat too tense to form words, Lily shut her eyes tightly and nodded before pulling away. While trying to compose herself, she accidently let a sob escape. Derek tried to hug her but she gently pushed him away. After a few deep breaths, she stood up and gave him a forced smile.

"Get up, we haven't even finished the chorus bit yet."

* * *

It was silly really. Holding hands shouldn't make his heart beat the way it did. Perhaps this was how Dora felt when she saw Remus. No, even she would have more maturity about this situation than him. But he couldn't help it. Here he was, holding hands and walking to drop Remus off at Lorca and all Sirius could really hear was the pounding of blood in his ears. How could someone have this sort of effect on him?

"So, Jon Evans is your uncle? I didn't know you and Lily were related." Sirius eventually said in hopes that question he had wanted to ask this whole time would pull him out of paying so much attention to the elevated levels of adrenaline pumping through his body.

"What?" Laughed Remus. "No we're not. Though I've known her so long it feels like it. Jon and my father used to work together and he was the one who introduced me to Lily. I was 5 maybe and had been begging my parents for ballet lessons even though my father wanted me to play football. Uncle Jon heard me whinging to my father one day and mentioned his niece was taking ballet lessons. Long story short, I was enrolled in the same ballet class as Lily and thus began a long and sometimes trying relationship. I've known Jon so long that he's like an uncle."

"Oh. Well I suppose I'm going to be setting the lads at work straight. One of them joked about me sleeping my way to the top."

"Should I not have stopped by?" Asked Remus, worried.

"No, I'm glad you did. It was the highlight of the day really. Even if Evans looked like he wanted to shoot me for a moment."

"He's a little protective of me. Sorry about that. Let me know if he gives you trouble and I'll talk to him."

"I'm sure I'll be able to handle it myself. Don't get worked up about it. I shouldn't have mentioned it." Assured Sirius, giving Remus' hand a squeeze. He took a moment to gather some strength before continuing. "Speaking of the lads at work though…I know you're busy most nights but I was wondering the next time you're off maybe I could get the blokes together and introduce you to them. You don't have to if you don't want to. Just thought they're going to be asking more about you now most of them seen you now why not?"

Sirius looked straight ahead, a little nervous at what he had just asked. He didn't want Remus to feel pressured or that things were moving too fast. Neither of them had ever really discussed meeting each other's friends and family. In Sirius' case, this was like asking to do both given that James was the closest thing to a real family he'd ever had. While Sirius enjoyed the little bubble they had created for themselves, the little meeting with Jon Evans showed him that they couldn't stay in it forever. No matter how much Sirius wished they could. What really worried him though was the possibility this next step ruining the relationship.

"I'd love to. You know Sunday nights are my nights off if your friends are all right meeting up then." It was Remus' turn to give Sirius' hand a reassuring squeeze. Relieved, Sirius was more than happy when Remus shifted so his arm tightly encircled Sirius' waist. Sirius responded by putting an arm around Remus' shoulder.

"So, I sort of got promoted." Remus stated, deciding to change topics as they reached the back entrance of Lorca.

"Really?"

"Well, we've all got new outfits. Mine's more revealing and a little less shape forming. It's kind of like a promotion in that I'm starting to look more like I belong there. Getting more tips as well."

"I don't care what anyone else things. You'd look handsome no matter what you wear or what your body looks like." Sirius admitted, embarrassed at his own boldness. Smiling, Remus moved away so he could look at Sirius before giving him a kiss.

"Thank you." Remus said as they pulled away. A sentence started to form in Sirius' throat but he did his best to stifle it. Even though the short kiss was making the butterflies in his stomach do somersaults and his heart was beating faster than a hummingbird's wings, it was too soon for any declarations. Even if he _thought_ this is was love felt like, he couldn't be too sure.

"You're welcome." Sirius breathed, before pulling Remus in closer for another kiss. This kiss was a lot longer and deeper than the one before. Soon, tongues were clashing and hands started to wander under shirts. Trying to remember they were out in public, Sirius broke away but still planted a few soft, gentle kisses on Remus' reddened lips. They were in the middle of an Eskimo kiss when the cheery ping of a video camera being turned on pulled them back to reality.

Right next to them was Nate, camera present as always.

"Do you two think you could do that again? I didn't catch it." He asked, causing both men to raise an eyebrow.

"Why?" Remus asked suspiciously, somewhat used to the camera now. Sirius on the other hand was a little more nervous about possibly being uploaded to a porn site.

"I've complied a list of requests in order to raise views and some of the commenters asked for more man kisses. I'm simply giving the people what they want. Now pretend I'm not here."

"Sorry about this. I assume your friends aren't as violating." Apologised Remus before pulling away. Sirius laughed a little, knowing he would have to talk to a few of the blokes and give them warnings before the drink on Sunday.

"Don't count on it."


	12. Chapter 11

**A/N**: Don't worry. I haven't abandoned this story. Just got side tracked...*coughSexPistolcough* but you needn't worry about it going unfinished because it _will_ get finished. You have my promise. Hope you enjoy!  
**Recap if you need one**: Last chapter, Sirius thought about all the ways Remus made him feel all fuzzy on the inside. Lily admitted she still loves Remus. CID headquarters got the impression that Remus is directly related to Jonathan Evans (even though he's not) and Remus agreed to meet Sirius' buddies from work.

* * *

The sight of Luiz and Nate hunched over and concentrated on the small screen of a video camera was what greeted Remus when he finally walked into Lorca's dressing room. He didn't pay much attention to them, though it was nice to see Luiz slowly moving back into his normal, flirty personality as opposed to snapping at anyone who talked to him. Derek and the fifth Lorca dancer, Wes Brown, were already half dressed for the night and regarded Remus with a friendly wave when he walked in.

Normally, if Nate showed off a particularly interesting video he had shot, Remus would watch a bit of it. He soon found out that this particular piece of footage didn't interest him the least, as it was the end of his kiss with Sirius.

"You're right, he _is_ cute in daylight." Luiz agreed with Nate, causing Remus to blush slightly. Not noticing Remus' embarrassment, Luiz continued. "Remus, where do you find a man like tat? Cute, caring and responsible?"

"Not in a bathroom stall, that's for sure." Derek cut in, laughing a bit as he dodged the dirty rolled up socks Luiz threw at him.

"So what do you say Luiz? If you had a nice police officer to pat you down at night would you stop charging for loo breaks?" Asked Wes.

"Well I'm sure he could _perzuade_ me with those handcuffs." Stated Luiz with a smile, before becoming somber. "But he'd have to be really special…who ever he is."

Nate gave Luiz a friendly pat on the back before clearing his throat to get everyone's attention.

"All right lads, I wanted to run a potential video idea with you." He waited a moment to make sure they were all looking at him before continuing. "Now as you know, I've been doing various things to get more views as it's one of my ambitions to become a YouTube partner. Before I properly apply, I wanted to reach more views than I've gotten in the past."

"I'm not going to make a sex tape for you." Wes broke in, causing laughter and jeers but Nate went on.

"Well, I've come up with a great idea. All of us in a dance video of a Lady Gaga song! I was thinking maybe Alejandro or Telephone."

"What if some of us don't want to do it?"

"Come on! It'll be fun and I also sort of told Mark's boyfriend about the idea and he helped me convince Mark it would be great free publicity for Lorca." Rushed Nate.

"Are you telling us we don't have a choice?" Remus deduced rather easily at Nate's almost apologetic expression.

"If you don't want to help choreography it's fine. I'll figure it out if no one else wants to lend a hand. Was thinking we could shoot a majority of things this coming Sunday, as long as everyone isn't already busy. Mark is letting us use Lorca and the lights and whatever we find back in the storage closet. I'll shoot close ups and all other individual pieces when over the next week whenever you guys can come in early. Other than a few moves to learn you just need to be dead sexy."

"Sunday's our only day off."

"But it'll be fun! Not like work at all!"

"It sounds like work." Derek stated. "What do we get out of it? My leers and moves don't come for free."

"My everlasting love?" Offered Nate but no one budged. "_Fine_, afterwards on Sunday I'll provide food and booze at my place. We'll make it a party."

"I want that lasagna you're always bragging about," Derek said. "And I'll help with choreography but I want my name for doing it in the credits."

"Deal." Nate agreed, his smile widening as everyone else followed Derek's lead and agreed to dance in the video.

"Oh I'm going to meet with Sirius' friends Sunday." Remus brought up, suddenly remembering his conversation with Sirius.

"Meeting the friends all ready?" Luiz asked with a devious smile, almost making Remus blush. "When do we get to meet him properly?"

"When I know you guys won't threaten to maul him."

"Oh I promize if we do, he'll like it." Luiz teased.

"And that's why I haven't brought him round to say hello."

"Well I'll have to bring you some lasagna Monday then." Said Nate, offering a reassuring smile and trying to make sure that Remus wasn't scared off completely from introducing Sirius. "What time are you meeting them?"

"I'm assuming Sunday night. Probably meeting at a pub."

"Well we'll just have to get everything done early. You're a fast learner, probably won't need long to learn the dances. One of us can drive you over if you need as well."

"I'll drive him." Offered Luiz, mischief already written on his face. For a moment, Remus faltered.

"Uh, all right. I suppose if I need I can ask Sirius to meet up a little later."

"That's the spirit! And I'll bring an extra helping of lasagna for Sirius on Monday night as well. Assuming all goes well and I'm sure it will."

"All right mother, turn off that camera and lets decide on a song." Derek ordered, taking the attention off of Remus, and for that Remus was thankful. It was nerve-wracking enough meeting Sirius' friends who also happened to be his work colleagues. Most of them already knew that he was sort of the nephew to Jon Evans and if they didn't meet him there's probably be a lot of ridiculous rumours spreading about either Remus or Sirius. Also, Remus wasn't even sure how he should act in front of them. Sirius seemed a little embarrassed today when Remus took his hand. Could he even touch Sirius or was it one of those pubs that weren't too tolerant of seeing it?

The last thing that Remus needed was one of the other dancers dwelling on it. Or worse, Luiz deciding to go in and make a mess of things if he truly did intend to drop Remus off. Though as nervous as Remus was becoming about it now, perhaps it wouldn't be so bad to have someone take off a bit of attention from him.

* * *

Minding his own business, and trying to expel pleasant thoughts of his night with Remus so he could get some work done, Sirius sat at his desk. He was surprised to hear a shout ring out.

"Black! My office! Now!" Evans called, causing a majority of HQ to turn around and stare at Sirius. This would likely not be a good meeting as Evans was employing the 'bastards got away on a technicality' voice. Not wanting to keep an angry boss waiting, Sirius stopped everything he was doing at the time and rushed to the office.

Jonathon Evans sat at his desk with the same furrowed brow he had been shooting Sirius' way for every so often that week. It ran a jolt of fear down Sirius' spin and he had to resist the urge to walk back out instead of closing the door behind him.

"Is there anything wrong?" Sirius asked tentatively. When Evans simply suggested he sit down, Sirius knew he was in it. After a rather uncomfortable silence where Sirius was met with a cold stare, Evans decided to speak.

"Now it's come to my attention you're in a relationship with someone that's close to me."

"Oh?" It was a rather dumb thing to say. It would have been much better to own up to knowing that Remus was an important person in Evans' life but it was a little hard to make impressive verbal decisions when Sirius felt like a schoolboy in the headmaster's office.

"Remus, if you haven't worked it out. Now, I'm not sure if you know but Remus has had rather bad luck with men in the past and I'm here to make sure he doesn't get hurt again. You're a trustworthy CID officer Black, but I don't know what type of…boyfriend you are. What are your intentions?"

"My- my intentions?"

"Yes, your romantic intentions towards Remus."

"I- uh," This was something he had never expected from Evans. The man was normally jovial about things but he looked like an angry father giving a warning to his daughter's date. What was even more terrifying was that Sirius knew full well Evans could aim and shoot from a distance.

"Is he just sex to you? Nothing more?"

"No! No, of course not. Never. I, I mean he's-" Sirius stumbled a bit before taking a short pause to try and collect himself. "Remus is one of the most amazing individuals I've met. I lo- I mean I have every intention of having a meaningful and long relationship with him. That is, more so that we have now."

When Evans leaned back in his chair and observed Sirius somewhat curiously, that was when Sirius knew he had said the right thing. What was more important though was that he meant every word. Even the ones he hadn't had the gall to say but still lingered on the tip of is tongue.

"Is that so? Well, I can't argue with that I suppose. Tell me Black, have you and Remus had sex yet?"

Sirius promptly turned bright red. No, they hadn't had sex yet though there had been quite a few nights of some wandering and curious hands. The question had caught him completely off guard as he tried to think of a diplomatic way to discuss a topic he never wanted to mention to Evans.

"I take it from your rather dashing shade of puce that the answer is no. Good. You can go back to work now Sirius. That's all I wanted to know. Oh and Sirius?" Evans caught Sirius' attention just before he stood up. "I'll be watching you."

With that, Sirius left the office. It didn't take long for him to realise that everyone was staring at him as he made his way back towards his desk. Waiting for him there was James.

"So? Evans sounded angry. You file something wrong?" James asked, a bit of sympathy in his voice.

"No but I think he just threatened to shoot my bits off if I upset Remus in any way, shape or form."

"Really? If that's just was an uncle says, I'd hate to meet his parents." Observed James. "Hell, I don't want to know what he'd say to me when Lily and I start dating."

"_When_ you start dating?" Sirius asked skeptically.

"What? It's _gonna_ happen. Just a matter of time. Anyway, if you're still getting death threats from Evans then I'm sure you can get Remus to say something. If he sticks with you after meeting all us on Sunday, then he'll probably stick with you through anything."

"You guys better be easy on him. It'd be my luck if the one guy I like in ages breaks it off because of you fools."

"I'm sure it'll be fine. Kingsley is still coming and he's good at mediating things if it gets out of hand- not that it would mind you. Though I'll have a chat with Caradoc and get him to cut it a bit with the gay jokes. They're starting to get old. Don't know what his problem is." James mentioned before going back to his own desk. Nodding a thanks, Sirius sighed before going back to the papers on his desk. Even if Caradoc did cut down on the jokes, Sirius was going to have to endure everyone else at HQ either pretending they knew his relationship business or making it up.

* * *

The smell of coffee and a weight hopping onto the bed woke up Remus. Mumbling affectionately but still not wanting to open his eyes, Remus told Sirius to move over and give him a morning kiss.

"Well if you insist." A warm, high voice that most decidedly did _not_ belong to Sirius said. Opening one of his eyes, Remus looked up from burying his head in the pillow to see Lily with a mischievous grin sitting on his legs.

"What?"

"You haven't been home for ages. Thought I'd celebrate this momentous occasion with a shared coffee like the old days. You know...when you lived here."

"I do live here-"

"Really? Could have fooled me. I hardly ever see you nowadays." Lily pouted dramatically before pulling Remus up into a sitting position rather violently. She shoved the coffee that was on the nightstand into his hands before comfortably tangling her legs with Remus' under the sheets. After a few sips, Remus spoke up.

"I haven't been meaning to spend so much time away, it's just, Sirius and I- well, I mean..."

"You two are lovebirds and can't stop staring into each other's eyes long enough for you to get back home." Lily finished.

"Not exactly but yes."

"When are you going to introduce him to me?" Asked Lily suddenly, causing Remus to pause half sip and raise an eyebrow.

"Introduce him? You've already met him."

"Yeah but he was Dora's uncle then. Now he's your boyfriend."

"Boyfriend?" Remus repeated, liking the tingle the word left on his lips.

"Yeah, that's what you call a guy who you spend almost every day and night with, telling each other sweet nothings."

"Why the sudden interest?" Asked Remus, not coherent enough to come up with a witty retort.

"Why not? He's apart of your life now and you're apart of mine. I have a right to want to get to know him. Make sure he's good for you."

"He _is_ good for me. Best man I've ever been with." Remus promised. The smile that Lily gave him wasn't entirely believable though. He could tell it was a little forced, a little skeptical, and there was a far off look in her eyes. Something like guilt started to gnaw at Remus. Life felt easy with Sirius and like Remus could ignore all his problems. It was almost selfish of him to want to escape all the annoying, nagging little things, especially when it meant forgetting about Lily.

Putting the half finished mug of coffee down, he scooted over to engulf Lily in a hug that was happily reciprocated. They stayed in their embrace a few more moments, Remus running a comforting hand through Lily's hair.

"Sirius is...amazing. When I'm with him- it feels different from anyone else. Like we've known each other for ages and we don't have to work hard to get each other, you know?" Described Remus in a soft voice, affection bursting through at the description.

"Like you two fit?" Lily finished, pulling her head away from Remus' shoulder to look him in the eyes. After a smile and a nod, Remus pulled Lily down to lie next to him.

"Good, because if he breaks your heart I'll have to ask Uncle Jon to shoot him." Concluded Lily.

"He won't. Even if it did happen I think Uncle Jon would already be on that without you even asking. Actually, I'm sure he'd offer my dad a few shots."

"You taking Sirius to met your mum and dad?"

"Uh, well I- not yet. I mean, I'm going to meet his friends this Sunday. We've still got a bit of time before I do that."

"No fair. If you meet his friends then he has to meet at _least_ Derek and me." Pouted Lily, snuggling closer to Remus.

"All right. If all goes well Sunday then I'll ask Sirius to meet with the two of you. Just promise you won't be too hard on him."

"I'll go see Uncle Jon soon and see if I can get his background scan just as a conversation starter."

"_Lily_-" Remus warned, though there wasn't much threat behind it. Kissing him on the cheek, Lily started to move up and out of the bed.

"Wish me luck."

"Good luck?"

"I'm meeting up with Petunia today. Accounting and all for the gallery."

"Oh. Do you want me to go in with you? You know I don't have to be at Lorca till later and-"

"It's fine." Assured Lily, though her mouth was now a thin line. Petunia was the slightly self-ostracized Evans and had always been a little odd, at least in the eyes of Davey and Camille Evans. While Lily had pleased her parents tremendously by becoming an artist and eventually taking on of their galleries, Petunia had gone to university for accounting and often stated her distaste for the frivolity of art. Accounting was a solid profession in its own right but combined with the comments, it was very much displeasing life choice to the sometime eccentric couple who prided in their art galleries. The relationship between Lily and Petunia was strained to say the least. Although she tried, Lily couldn't seem to gain back the easy relationship she had with her older sister when they were little girls. Out of family duty of perhaps just courtesy, Petunia met with her parents and now with Lily to help with accounts at the gallery.

"If you need me. Call okay?" Remus insisted, watching Lily slowly walk out of his room. Not even bothering to look over her shoulder, she answered with a subdued tone.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." As an afterthought, Lily turned back and asked a little louder, "you still coming to my dad's birthday dinner tomorrow?"

"Of course. Wouldn't miss it for the world." Promised Remus.

"Good." Lily gave him a small smile before walking out. There was still a chance that Petunia was going to the dinner and she wasn't sure she could take it without Remus being there to hold her hand under the table if things got bad. Now that Lily thought about it though, she needed Remus to hold her hand a lot more than she really realised before he spent all his time with Sirius. She knew that if Derek could hear her thoughts, he'd tell her to just grow up and let Remus be happy. She did want his happiness though but she also wanted him there with her when she needed him most and that wasn't happening anymore. It made her panic a little for various reasons she didn't to dwell on.

Really though, it wasn't fair. She had always been there for Remus when he needed her. And even though she may not have been there for a few years, she was trying to make up for it. She should at least get to spend time with Remus even if it meant spending time with Sirius as well.

Suddenly, a wonderful idea popped into her head. Taking shot of whiskey for some extra strength before her upcoming meet up with Petunia, Lily smiled and made her way out the door.


End file.
